Artefact
by righteous-maximus
Summary: In this P4 AU, a bakery opens in the shopping district, run by two mysterious women. What do they know about the TV world, Personas and shadows? A series of drabbles featuring Minako and Aigis being cute and helping out the IT. Will feature F!Yu. Crossposted from Ao3.
1. Opening

Situated in the middle of the dilapidated shopping district in Inaba is a newly renovated and opened bakery, called Wiping All Out. Inside is a pristine counter and racks of sweets gleaming under the lights, ovens and baking tools scattered about and a series of small tables milling about the floor. Working there is a woman with brown hair and piercing red eyes, rolling out sheets of dough when Yu steps inside. She's only been in Inaba for a few weeks and is already fitting in well to the town - making friends with Yosuke and Chie and already steeped in a murder investigation. She's been trying to find information on Amagi-san when she wanders inside on a nice afternoon, walking up to the counter and clearing her throat. The woman working the counter - more a girl, maybe a few years older than herself and with pins that show XXII, turns around and walks towards the register.

"Welcome! What can I get for you?"

"Uh...what's good?" Yu stumbles a bit, confidence lost, before regained, "I'll have whatever's fresh, miss, uh...?"

"Minako Arisato! I'm the owner and baker here at Wiping All Out. You'll have to excuse me, we just opened."

"Thanks, Arisato-san. I'm Yu Narukami."

"No, none of that now, Yu-chan! You'll make me feel like an old woman. Call me...senpai."

"Understood, senpai." Minako giggles and busies away to grab a cupcake, frosted with vanilla and large sprinkles laying on top.

"Here you go!" The numbers pop up on the register's display and Yu hands over the yen, dropping the remainder in the tip jar.

"Thank you for your business!" Minako chimes and leans against the counter.

"So," Minako starts, "What brings a school girl like yourself here?"

"I'm looking for someone. Did Yukiko Amagi ever come in here?"

Minako rubs her chin with her finger, flour smudging. "I think she came in once a few days ago after we opened, to see if we could start a partnership. But other than that, sorry, Yu-chan."

Yu nods and finishes off the pasty - supremely delicious by the way - in a few seconds and bids goodbye. As she leaves, a blonde brushes past her and apologizes, quickly moving towards the counter. As Yu turns to look, she sees Minako vault the counter and crush the blonde in a hug, lips swiftly meeting. Yu smiles and shakes her head, heading towards Junes. She's got plans to cook dinner tonight.

After that, Yu heads to the bakery more and more often. Townspeople come and go, some raving about Minako's great desserts and baked goods, but they hardly go more often than once. Yu sits at a table with Yosuke and Chie, talking quietly. The two locals think they're spies, whispering to each other.

"Teddie said we're near the top of the castle. Only a bit more until we're at the top and to Yukiko!" Yosuke says, getting progressively louder. Chie moves to stomp his foot and he yelps out, face almost slamming into his slice of pie.

"Guys, focus." Yu chimes in, "You're getting loud. Not that there's really anyone here..."

"Heeeey!" Minako yells from across the store, looking up from frosting a line of cookies, "You're gonna make me and Aigis feel bad!"

Yu looks up the two owners and partners of the bakery, the blonde staring impassively. She notes Minako's lack of honorific for the blonde, and decides not to look into it.

"But still," Minako moves to the table and pulls up a chair, looking through her eyelashes at Yu. "What're you talking about?"

"Nothing!" Chie and Yosuke say at the same time, Yosuke flushing to his eyebrows.

"Well," Minako says, eyes darkening, "Be careful, alright? These sorts of things...have a way of getting to you and taking more than you'd like."

But then she instantly brightens, "I read that somewhere. Cool, huh? I'll grab your trash for you guys, ok?"

Yosuke and Chie mumble thanks and they leave the restaurant, Yu deep in thought. Right now, they've got to get back in the TV and save Yukiko.

But of course nothing was simple, with Minako's words ringing through her ears and Yukiko's shadow being more of a problem than Chie's. She rolls her head from side to side and lets Izanami's fervor burst through her veins.

"PERSONA!" She shouts as she charges forward, katana dragging just above the ground. Izanami forms behind her, lightning caging. Izanami shrieks and strikes Shadow Yukiko solidly, Chie moving in to cast Bufu a moment later. It connects and the monstrosity goes down, and once the dust from the All Out Attack fades, the Team stands ready again.

It doesn't end until Yukiko's shadow dissolves into its original form and Chie wraps a comforting arm around Yukiko's shoulders, Konohana Sakuya rising from the ashes.

The next day after classes, Yu returns to the bakery and takes her usual spot at, well, her table. Minako brings out a slice of cake and drops it on her table, "free of charge!"

"Minako-senpai - "

"Yes?"

"You're - well, you're a Wild Card, aren't you?"

The older woman stiffens and laughs, stress easing from her shoulders.

"Bingo~" She shoots finger guns at Yu, a smile curling her lips. "Actually, both Aigis and I are. Or were. I'm not anymore, but I can use a Persona, yup. Aigis...well, she has my Wild Card, but doesn't really use it."

"What's this about a Wild Card?" The two turn to see Aigis in the doorway, head tilted in confusion.

"Oh! Aigis! I was talking to Yu-chan about being a Wild Card. Seems she is. Explains the weird feelings we've gotten from her and her friends, right?"

"I see," Aigis says almost robotically.

"So?" Minako asks, sitting down across from Yu.

"Got any questions?"

"So," Minako muses, leaning on her left hand while her right is entangled with Aigis's.

"The murders are all tied to the TV world? Those that go in die if they're not rescued?" Yu nods at this, digging into a slice of cake.

"Whelp!" Minako stands abruptly, dragging Aigis up. Apparently she was a robot? A human robot?

"Looks like you're not gonna see the last of us, then! Cause we're gonna help you!" Minako extends her left hand out in a v-sign, winking.

"Minako-san, wouldn't some proof be required before offering assistance? I know you want to help..." Aigis says, looking downturn.

"Oh come on!" Minako rubs their cheeks together before booping her nose with her own.

"She's a Wild Card!"

Yu hears the ringing bells of a new Social Link and it reveals itself as - the World?!

The next day, Yu gathers the, well, Investigation Team including Yukiko at the bakery with Minako and Aigis. Cue Yosuke and Chie falling out of their chairs at the revelations of Minako and Aigis, but, well. They had it coming. Yukiko takes it in stride, and they decide to venture into the TV world and meet with Teddie.

This time, they manage to all land on their feet, Minako somehow landing in Aigis's arms in a bridal carry. Minako blushes furiously at this and pecks Aigis on the cheek, apparently just because she can. She disentangles herself from the robot and stretches. From nowhere, she pulls out a massive naginata and deftly maneuvers it.

"Hmm. It's no Dark Hour, but I can feel my Personas well. How about you, Aigis?"

"Yes. Increased presence of nearby Shadows allows activation of Personas. Are you feeling well?" At this Aigis moves back to Minako and brushes her hand against her face, Minako-senpai leaning into it.

"I'm fine, Aigis. Come on. It's been a while. So, Yu-chan, take us somewhere! I want to test my abilities, since it's been a while!"

"Wait, Personas? As in multiple?" Yukiko asks, rubbing her eyes beneath her glasses.

"Haha! Spot-on, Yukiko-chan! We've got multiple. Remnants of your leader's Wild Card. Well, I've got three, and Aigis has the full range, but only uses Athena."

"Wow! Two bear-y attractive hotties! Sensei, can you help me score with them?" And of course Teddie has to ruin the mood.

"Detecting...unknown life-form. What are you?" Aigis levels her hand at the mascot, and it become visible that her fingertips have holes.

"I'm Teddie! And Teddie is Teddie is Teddie!"

"Don't bother, Aigis-san," Yosuke drawls, "He's just empty on the inside."

"Heeey! That's rude, Yosuke!" The bear pouts and Minako goes over to pet his head.

"Oohh! That feels nice! Can I score with you?" Yu smacks her face with her hand.

"Sorry, Teddie, but I'm already taken." It seems to Yu that the two gravitate towards each other, always going to hold hands or be touching.

"Now enough messing around! Let's go kick some Shadow ass!" Minako cheers, pumping her fists.

How can Yu refuse?

From what Yu can tell, they're strong. The rest of the team gets over their shock when Minako switches from Persona to Persona, but even with them, she remains strong. Aigis seems to strike the Shadows with physical attacks from her Persona, and she seems to weather attacks with no problem.

"Huh," Minako-senpai says after one of her Personas - Thanatos, by the name - finishes off a Hablerie with a fire attack, "seems weaker. Yeah, none of my Personas have their max-level abilities. Like...they're weaker than before?"

"Yes. Even Athena seems weaker than at our peak. Well, I thought I regained myself in the Abyss of Time, but it seems without adequate training, our abilities weaken..."

"Geez, you're starting to sound like Akihiko-senpai!"

"Next, will we be talking about protein?"

"Good joke, Aigis! Messiah!" Minako-senpai shouts as Yu and the rest of the team stare wide-eyed at the two women as Messiah bursts from Minako in a halo of white light, a blast of energy annihilating the Shadows. Shortly after, Orpheus Telos emerges and casts a fire spell, a faint melody echoing.

"So, Yu-chan? Need an extra hand with this? We're glad to assist!" Minako pumps her free hand, in an achingly familiar pose.


	2. If You Like Dudes

"Kanji-kun? Oh yeah! He's come in a few times to buy some stuff. He's a nice kid. And he's on the Midnight Channel now?" Minako swung her foot from her perch on the counter, her thumb idly rubbing Aigis's knuckles. The robot merely stands stock-still. The team is gathered, as usual, at Minako's bakery to gather more clues to look for Kanji Tatsumi. Teddie said last time that they just needed a bit more and then he can sniff out his dungeon, but until then, there's not much going on.

"Yeah, he showed up. At least we think he did, but nothing too...extravagant." Yu replies, fork poking at her empty plate.

"Extravagant?" Aigis supplies, moving next to Minako even closer, if possible.

"Yeah, Yukiko's special was...pretty out there," Chie says, nudging closer to Yukiko. When Yu closes her eyes she can see the social links building with her friends and other acquaintances around town. Friends as strength, huh?

"Anyway, guys, thanks for swinging by. We'll keep looking around, but we're closing now and you should get home," Minako gets up and stretches. The rest of the team bids good night, but Yu lingers.

"Yu-chan? What's up?" Minako asks, curious.

"Senpai, since you were a Wild Card, what about the Velvet Room?" Minako turns downcast, and holds herself.

"Igor only has one guest at a time, and right now that's you, kiddo. Much as I'd love to go back and see Elizabeth again, I...can't. My journey ended. I'll tell you more about it later, when it becomes relevant. I'm sorry, Yu-chan."

"I understand."

Yu leaves the bakery and sees Yosuke still there, tapping his foot while he has his headphones on.

"Partner?" Yu ventures and Yosuke recoils in response.

"Geez! Don't scare me like that! Just wondering if you wanted someone to walk you home, s'all."

"Thanks. Say, what do you think'll happen next?"

"Hmm?"

"Yeah, what's going to happen next. Say we get Kanji out of the TV after he's thrown in. Since he will, knowing our luck. Will this cycle just continue?"

"I don't know, partner. But I do know this - Junes doesn't close and we can still get some grilled steak. You in?"

Yu smiles, and her stomach rumbles. The two share a laugh and head off to the department store.

Minako and Aigis's apartment is simple and small - one bedroom, one bath, and a kitchen large enough for Minako to cook and bake at her leisure. Aigis likes to joke that she doesn't need much room or maintenance, since all of her bullets and tools are stuffed in a small closet in the bathroom. The walls are a pale grey, butterflies fluttering about, marking a path from the entrance to the bedroom.

"Hey, Aigis?"

"Yes?"

"Am I still...me?"

"I don't understand."

"Am I the person you fell in love with? What if, when I came back - "

"Don't, Minako. You are you. I promised I'd protect you, and I will keep doing so until the very end." Aigis lifts Minako's hand to her chest, under which beats her Papillon Heart, so marked with Minako's fingerprint. Tears threaten Minako's eyes and they collapse into bed together, hands wrapped together.

Even now, her Personas are active and watching. _We've disgraced ourselves thus_ , Thanatos starts, and Minako doesn't have the mind to argue.

 _Even now we consort with that machine that sealed me in you, trapped us -_

Not _now_ , she thinks and switches to Messiah. Messiah's peace and healing waft through the room, restraining Thanatos and his anger. She can still feel his fingers at her spine and joints, ready to supply her with power. Orpheus Telos remains silent throughout this, the Fool's mask settling over her mien with a faint _click_. Orpheus waves its hand, and she drifts asleep.

Well. That's something. Yu stares at her TV after Kanji's special ends, mute. She stays silent until Yosuke's call comes through, breathless.

"Partner, what the hell was that?"

"Hot."

"DUDE!"

"Don't worry, Yosuke. Just a bit more digging, and Teddie'll have sniffed him out."

"HOW ARE YOU NOT WORRYING?!"

"Calm down. We hang with gay people all the time, get over it."

"Huh?"

"Oh come on, partner. You're not that dull. I, I mean, Aigis-san and Minako-senpai?"

"W-well, that's different."

"Fine. What about Chie-chan and Yukiko-chan?"

"What?"

"You're hopeless. See you tomorrow, partner."

Yu hangs up, a smile on her face.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Yu steps in and is surprised to see only Margaret in the limo, both Igor and Marie gone.

"My apologies, but we're closed now. With the master gone - "

"I'm sorry, but, but it's important." Yu interrupts and Margaret goes silent, tilting her head.

"I-I just have some questions. About the Social Links. Like, what makes Yosuke a Magician? And why're both Minako and Aigis a Social Link?"

Margaret smiles and opens her book, tarot cards floating up. "That is certainly in my province to answer. For your first question, the Magician represents untapped power and restlessness. Your friend has been wrestling with his place in this town, has he not?"

Yu nods and Margaret continues, moving through the arcana.

"Finally, having two people as one arcana is not so unusual. Your predecessor had one like that. What is unusual is their placement - the World. As we finish the Fool's journey we reach completion at the World - and that is what they signify. Minako Arisato and Aigis have already completed their Fools' journey and found each other. They...complete each other, if you will."

"Thank you, Margaret-san."

"My pleasure."

The team stands in front of the bathhouse, steam wafting from the entryway. The younger members are sweating through their uniforms, while Minako and Aigis look peachy, but Yu can see faint images of Thanatos and Athena looking wary at each other. Minako grimaces and with a shattering of glass, he is replaced by Orpheus Telos, the musician tuning its harp.

"Might as well get dressed for the occasion, right?" Minako laughs and begins to take off her clothes. Yu and the rest stare wide-eyed as Minako halts.

"What? Clothes don't do that much for protection and it's _hot_ in there. Besides, It's just my jacket." Minako finishes and tosses her jacket to the floor, reaching down absent-mindedly to pet the fox. It's the first time Yu's seen Minako without sleeves on, and she can see the scars and marks littering her arms. Small dots and lines mar her arms, and Minako face twitches when her shirt rubs her back weird. Aigis is apparently already "battle ready", and looks naked.

Whatever.

The first time Yosuke brought up that fact, Minako had tacitly reminded that, "you guys summon ancient gods to do battle with the repressed emotions of the townspeople. S'not that weird."

Minako touches her toes and gives Aigis a kiss "for good luck", and gestures to Yu to lead the way.

"I feel like we're...intruding?" Yukiko asks as she sidesteps an enemy attack.

"How so?" Chie replies, and Tomoe blasts a Shadow with ice.

"Well, Yosuke-kun is the only male here. I feel like we shouldn't be here."

"Don't worry about that, Yukiko-chan!" Minako calls, Orpheus Telos erupting out of her the same time Athena does from Aigis, and the two rain death upon the Shadows.

"If someone's trying to stop you from going somewhere, it means you're going the right way!"

Yu just sighs and adjusts her towel before knocking down a door and heading up the stairs. Her katana's slippery now and everything's gross.

"Huh," Minako says as Kanji curses his shadow out and it becomes enraged.

"So this is how you get your Personas?"

"Yep," Yu deadpans, settling into a ready stance.

"Back in my day, we tested to see if you had potential, then pretended to shoot ourselves in the head." The younger members look deathly afraid before Minako laughs it off.

"Well, after facing Death, I don't really need it. Come on, guys! Let's trash this thing!"

Yu nods and begins yelling instructions.

"Investigation Team! Go!"

As usual, the next day after an adventure in the TV world and after class, Yu heads to Wiping All Out. There, Minako is handing out scones to some elementary schoolers, including Nanako.

"Hey, Nanako-chan." Yu walks up to her cousin and rubs her head affectionately, nodding to senpai.

"Oh! Big sis! Good to see you! We all wanted to come here and Minako-san is really nice to us!"

"That's right~" Minako winks. "Since I'm the boss around here, I can give to whomever I want!"

"That doesn't sound like a good business principle."

"Shush! I'm in charge around here!" Minako puts her hands on her hips and grins, and the children go nuts.

And as usual, after Kanji's first meeting, Minako gifts the rest of the team with baked goods.

"Uh, uh, thanks, Arisato-san."

"Ugghh! Kanji-kun, would it kill you to call me Minako at least? I swear, I'm only nineteen and you make me feel like an old lady!"

"Careful, Kanji," Yu and Yosuke say at the same time. Yosuke coughs and lets Yu continue, "She doesn't like being called an old lady."

"Darn right!"

"Well, then, uh, thanks? Senpai?" Their senpai squeals at this and jumps excitedly.

"Aren't you cute?"

"Eh-? I'm manly! You know it, Minako-senpai!"

"Well then, what's that in your backpack? Are those knitting needles?" Yu points out, taking a swift bite of a brownie.

Kanji flushes and stammers, and the team shares a laugh.


	3. Summer Lovin'

"So," Dojima starts at dinner. Yu looks up from her fried rice to her uncle, a question at her lips. "I see you've been hanging out at that new bakery a lot. Is there anything going on there?"

"Nothing, uncle. It's just that I've made some new friends, is all."

"Mm. Just don't get into trouble, alright?"

"Daddy! Are you and Big Sis fighting?" Nanako interrupts and tugs her father's sleeve, pouting. He smiles down at her and rubs her head affectionately.

"No we're not, Nanako. I'm just concerned about things. I worry about you both a lot, you know that, right?"

"Uh huh!" The table quiets as the three resume eating.

"I also notice you've been hanging out with Kanji Tatsumi. I hope you're not getting involved in anything too serious." Yu blanches at this, flashing back to just a few hours ago during a particularly tough training session in the TV.

"D-don't worry, uncle. I'm staying safe."

"That's all I ask."

"Hey, shorty!" Marie calls out to Yu as she walks through the shopping district. She doesn't have many plans today, and she can spare some time to spend with Marie. She's recently fused an Aeon persona, so maybe that will help.

"Hey, Marie-chan! What's up?"

"What's...up? The sky, dummy."

"It's an expression. More like, 'how are you doing?'"

"I knew that! StupidjerkfaceIhateyou!" The girl stammers, looking aside.

"Well, Marie-chan, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today. I've got nothing to do and you don't seem to be doing anything either."

At this, Marie brightens, a smile spreading across her face.

"S-sure! Not that I'd want to be with you or whatever!"

"Sometimes you're so cute it hurts."

"Your flattery will get you nowhere!"

"Hey Yu-chan!" Senpai calls as Yu and Marie walk into senpai's bakery. She's rolling out pastry as Aigis stands to the side, and Yu notices the robot girl sneak a peek at senpai's butt.

"Hey senpai. Aigis-san. This is Marie-chan. She's from the Velvet Room."

"Ooh! You're out on a date, aren't ya?" Minako calls over her shoulder, winking. Both Yu and Minako blush, stammering.

"She's not my girlfriend!" They both say, and blush even more as Minako giggles.

"I'm just teasing, you two. Nice to meet you, Marie-chan. I'm Minako, one of your boss's old guests. And this is Aigis, who's also one of your boss's old guests. Say, is Elizabeth around?" Marie looks down and pouts at this.

"Margaret-san mentions her sister, but it seems Elizabeth-san is out. Going on her own journey, or something."

"Figured," Minako smiles at this. Yu can't see her smile, but she knows Minako by now and knows she always smiles.

"Anyway!" Minako jumps up and winks. "What can I get for you?"

"I don't believe that Marie is from the Velvet Room." Aigis says as Yu and Marie leave the bakery.

"Oh?"

"Yes. My readings indicated more of a Shadow's presence than a member of the Velvet Room's presence. I remember scanning Igor-san and Elizabeth-san during our escapade in the Abyss, but her energy signature is...muddled. She doesn't know what she even is."

"Them's the breaks, Aigis. We all don't know what we are or what we're supposed to do. Well, I guess I did. Now? Well," At this, Minako turns and loops her arms over Aigis's shoulders,

"I've got you and you've got me and that's all we need. Right?"

Aigis doesn't answer except to close the distance between their lips until they hear a housewife scoff at the "lewd behavior".

And Minako laughs, because that's who she is.

She didn't die just to let someone mock her choices.

"Yu..."

"Yeah Marie?"

"Are we friends?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Okay. Do you think you'll find this truth you're after?"

"I hope so."

"Hmm." Marie stops walking and looks down over the Samegawa river. "Something about you...no, your Persona...Izanami...feels...familiar?"

Izanami laughs.

"Are your memories coming back?"

Marie shakes her head and Yu sighs. "Still," she starts, "maybe they're not worth it. Maybe...it's the memories that we make going forward that matter."

"'We' make?"

Marie blushes harder than before and stammers.

"Shut up! Moronidiotjerkfool!"

Yu laughs, because that's what Minako would do. She walks Marie back to the Velvet Room, hands linked so that Marie doesn't wander off and get lost. At this point, with how many times they've gone out, Marie's less likely to do so, but Yu can never be too sure.

"Well, this is my stop," Marie shrugs, pointing at the Velvet Room's door as it shimmers into existence. "I had a fun time today, meeting your senpai. Your group of friends seem really cool. Later." At this, she leans down a bit to kiss Yu on the cheek, who flushes bright red as Marie waves, disappearing into the haze of the Velvet Room.

Yu rubs her cheek, imagining what those lips would feel like on hers.

"Just a muffin, please," The girl murmurs, hood covering her head as she orders. Minako's curious now, this new girl isn't someone she's seen before. What with her hood and all, but Minako can sense latent Persona abilities on her. Part of her mysterious Seal powers. Maybe it's an aftereffect of dying.

"Of course! Today, I've got bran, lemon poppy seed and chocolate chip. Which would you like?"

"Um, I'll take, a, um, poppy seed?"

"Sounds great! For here or to go?"

"H-here, please." Something about her voice sounds familiar.

"Alright!" Minako punches the register a few times and the girl hands over a few notes. She tells Minako to keep the change and sits at Yu's table. The Team isn't there at the moment and Aigis is out. Her lover/wife/girlfriend goes out to explore most days, and Minako knows she can keep herself safe.

"So," Minako says as she sits down at the table opposite the girl. "What brings a new face here? I like to think I know most people in this town."

"Oh! I just moved back here. I've lived here before, and I wanted to check out the new parts of town." As the girl talks she gets more excited and her eyes brighten under her hood.

"Alright. Well then, welcome back. I'm Minako Arisato, and I'm the chef and owner here. And you are?"

"Well, I'm Rise Kujikawa."

Minako balks and leans back. "Not the famous singer Risette? Alert the presses! My first celebrity!"

"Stop it!" Rise laughs, enjoying herself.

"Well, you're welcome here whenever you please. You enrolling in school here?"

"Yep! I'm gonna be a first year at Yasogami High. I just hope that people want to be friends with me for who I am. Not with Risette."

"I feel you, kid. And remember, we're almost always open here if you need a friendly ear. There's a crowd that comes in and one of them's your age. His name's Kanji Tatsumi. He might look like a punk, but he's a good kid. They're all good. Remind me of me when I was your age."

"And how old are you?"

Minako sticks out her tongue, "Nineteen."

"What's it like being a real adult?"

"Stressful. Liberating. Joyous. Painful. It's just like being a kid, but not. Enjoy yourself, Rise Kujikawa. There's power in names, and be sure to know which parts of yourself you want to keep." At this, Minako stands up and smiles, but there's a darkness hiding in her eyes, Rise can tell.

She stuffs the rest of her muffin in her mouth and waves goodbye.

Rise's special on the Midnight Channel ends and Minako can hear Yosuke's exasperated yelling at Yu on the line right now. She smiles and turns to Aigis, who looks pensive.

"So." Minako starts, curling up into Aigis.

"Yes?"

"Thoughts?"

"I do not understand why she is trying to be sexually arousing when she is underage. What is the point?"

"I don't know, Aigis. I guess we'll see when we get there."

Aigis nods and picks up Minako, carrying her to bed.

Rise's Shadow mocks them as the Team heads through the strip club, Minako bopping and jiving to the music. Her reverie is interrupted when a Shadow casts a Zionga at her and Aigis pushes her out of the way.

"Aigis!" She shouts, falling to the ground. Yu switches Personas and calls one forth, blasting it dead as Minako passes out.

When she wakes up, she's in Aigis's arms, who's lightly smoking. Minako blearily switches to Messiah and casts a Diarama, the cuts and burns fading from Aigis's features.

"Sorry about that, Aigis."

"Do not worry. My mission is to protect you. Always and forever."

Yosuke and Kanji groan at her flirting and turn away, but they're smiling behind their hands. Yu moves closer and asks, "You two alright?"

"Yep!" Minako says, peachy. "Now if Aigis would put me down - woah!" At this Aigis drops Minako on her ass, and the Team laughs.

"I love you," Minako says from the floor.

"I love you too," Aigis responds and helps her up.

Yu and Yosuke stand outside the last door before Rise's Shadow, debating whether they can do it now. They all know that there's going to be a boss behind the door, and they don't know if they'll be able to handle it.

"Partner, should we do it?" Yosuke ventures, unsure. Jiraiya resettles over him, quietly rapping about the wind. _Shut up_ , he tells his Persona and Jiraiya laughs, quieting. Izanami churns in Yu's head, agitated at the Shadow behind the door.

 _I am thee and thou art I, Yu Narukami_ , Izanami says, and Yu wonders if Minako's Personas ever talked to her this way. _We feel the same, and thou must finish this posthaste!_ Izanami sings and Yu groans, slumping forward. Youske catches her and smiles.

"It's alright, partner. We'll rest up tonight and beat that Shadow's ass tomorrow!" The Team cheers as Yukiko slumps backward against a wall. Chie is quick to pick her up at the knees and back and promises to get Yukiko home safely. As the Team disperses, Minako shouts to Chie to not do anything she wouldn't do, and the brawler blushes as Minako laughs.

Yu arrives home battered and bruised and draws a bath for herself. If she closes her eyes, she can see her Personas floating above her, watching. She knows that they look at her and their corresponding Social Link, but Izanami stares dead at her. Her naginata shifts back and forth, and she notes the similarity in how Minako holds hers.

"Tell me," Yu whispers, and her Personas look at her, "what am I doing?"

 _You must find the truth_ , they all whisper to her, and then they disappear.

Rise's Shadow finally disperses as Teddie's emerges, and Yu is _tired_. She's drained and so is the rest of the Team but they're determined.

Sometime during the fray, Kanji scores a critical hit and knocks Teddie down and after the dust fades, the Shadow is still there. It's silent before Aigis and Minako nod at each other and run across so that Shadow Teddie is between them.

"Let's do it!" Minako shouts as she - she pulls a freaking gun from her pocket and shoots herself in the head. Glass shatters, and Thanatos _screams_ out, the airwaves vibrating. Across from her, Aigis summons Athena and the two Personas look at each other through Teddie and howl, charging forward. There's a massive explosion of light and darkness, bits of energy flying out from their clash around Teddie. Eventually, Minako collapses from the strain and Aigis is there, catching her in her arms. As Aigis bends down to kiss Minako the attack finishes, and Shadow Teddie vaporizes.

"I'm really worried, Yu," Dojima says as he, Yu and Nanako eat dinner.

"You come home looking like you've fought a war," well, he isn't wrong. Fighting against two Shadows that eventually (thankfully) were accepted has taken a toll on her body.

"Basketball." She says without hesitation.

"What kind of basketball are you playing?" Dojima asks, looking at her with a gaze she's labeled, "the detective glare".

"Since there's no girls team, I'm playing with the guys. I didn't want to just be a manager and they let me in after I showed them off. They recognize I'm not delicate and they play rough." Daisuke can attest to that.

"Alright. I'll trust your word on this. But if you come home injured again, we're going to have a talk."

"Daddy! No fighting!" Nanako pouts at her father and Dojima and Yu share a look. Then, they laugh.

Later, Morooka shows up dead and everything changes.


	4. Game On

Because of course _nothing_ in this town is normal, Morooka's dead body is lying outside of Minako's bakery. When she and Aigis see the body she has to remind herself to scream and call the police, since years of the Dark Hour have kind of normalized her towards death and blood. Within the next hour she is at the station in a closed room, a cup of lukewarm coffee steaming next to her. Shortly after, two men enter the room, and she stands up to shake their hands.

"Minako Arisato? I'm detective Ryotaro Dojima and this is my partner, Tohru Adachi. Pleased to meet you." Dojima introduces himself and Adachi and shakes Minako's hand, Adachi doing he same shortly.

"Nice to meet you, Arisato-san."

"Please, detectives. Call me Minako."

"Okay...Minako-san. File says you're nineteen years old. You moved here a few months ago and set up shop."

"Yep! Moved in with my partner, Aigis. Call the shop a going away present from a friend."

"Must've been some friend," Adachi says and Dojima scoffs.

"Well, she is the head of the Kirijo group now."

"Alright then." Dojima continues, "did you or your partner know the victim?"

"Nope. From what I've heard from my friends, he was their homeroom teacher at Yasogami High. From what I could tell, he wasn't well liked, but not enough for this."

"Hmm. And who are these friends?"

"Just some kids from Yaso High. Yu Narukami, Youske Hanamura, Chie Satonaka..."

"My nephew, huh?"

"So! You're uncle Dojima! Yu talks about you often."

"Good things, I hope?"

"Yep!"

"See, Dojima-san? Seems you're not that awful at home."

"Shut up, Adachi."

The dialogue continues for a bit until Dojima says that Minako can go home. As she leaves the station she sees Aigis and links hands with her, walking back to the bakery. Understandably, the whole storefront is closed off as the police investigate. Off to the side they see the rest of the Team, watching the police work.

"Hey guys!" Minako shouts and jogs over, Aigis trailing behind her. The Team greets her in kind, and they all look towards the outline of Morooka's body.

"Well this changes things," Yu muses and Rise shakes. Minako puts a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and she smiles.

"Morooka didn't show up on the Midnight Channel and it wasn't raining last night." Yu continues.

"Partner's right. It doesn't fit. Well - shit!" Yosuke interrupts himself when he reads a text he just got.

"Dammit! We gotta head to Junes. Apparently, Teddie's out of the TV."

What.

"Ta-da! Behold, the brand new and improved Teddie, bear-y ready to score with all the ladies of Inaba!"

The Team stares at the Teddie, now blonde and blue-eyed, and no longer a mascot bear.

"What the hell, Ted!" Kanji yells, raising his fist.

"How rude, Kanji! You should be able to appreciate my princely majesty however I appear!" He winks and sparks emanate from his closed eye, and the girls all shudder and recoil.

"Aigis, let's go home."

"Agreed."

"Argh! This dungeon doesn't make any sense!" Yosuke stomps his foot and shakes free his headphones, his knives hitting the ground soon after. After a moment of silence, he bends down to pick them up, checking for any damage.

"There's something here...something about Mitsuo that makes this place so weird," Rise's voice filters through their ears, Himiko carrying her voice.

"Yes. I detect several wards and barriers in place to discourage us." Aigis's robotic voice says from her corner in the hallway. She shoots down a seemingly empty hallway, and her bullets echo off an invisible wall.

"Well then! Time to break the rules!" Minako calls and jams her naginata in the ground. "Aigis, give me a hand." The blonde walks over as the rest of the Team gathers around the two as Aigis hoists Minako up onto her shoulders. She cackles and drops back down, kissing Aigis on the cheek. She cracks her knuckles and marches - into a wall.

Through the wall.

"You could say, well, that I'm part of this place. We fought our own war on Tatsumi Port Island, and in the end, it was just Minako and the Big One. I didn't walk away."

"You died," Yu says like a mantra, "you died, you died, you're dead."

"We summon gods and mythical entities to do battle with the repressed emotions of your peers. Death isn't something to be feared. I sacrificed myself to be the Great Seal guarding Erebus and Nyx. Only when they meet does the Fall happen. But Erebus is just a big dog, really. Up on the Seal, I could hear...everything." Minako keeps plowing through walls and borders, and they hear Shadow Mitsuo's angry voice about breaking the rules.

"I heard the hopes and dreams of people all over the world. I heard what people were thankful for and I sung them to Erebus and he calmed himself. And then...I was let go. There are two fundamental truths of reality, Yu Narukami, and both are realized at death. One I can repeat, and the other, only the dead truly know."

"What is it?"

"Death is not meant to be feared needlessly. But it should not be accepted. Face death and fight!"

"Hey, isn't that the Featherman theme?" Yosuke asks, and the Team gathers around Minako, amidst light and dark, right and wrong.

"Yep!" She replies, popping the 'p'. There's the sound of shattering glass and her three Personas appear, before dispersing down a hallway that was not there before. She runs forward, because that is who Minako is, and Yu follows her, because that is where the Truth is. Minako's Personas stop at the large door behind which Shadow Mitsuo lies, and she collapses. Aigis rushes to her side and picks her up, casting a quick healing spell over her.

"There," she murmurs, "the enchantment's gone. I'm all for taking a night off so that I can recover, but if you want to do it, I won't stop you. You are the leader after all." Minako smiles.

Yu nods. "Let's take a night off. I'd say we can sleep when we're dead?" Minako laughs at this and coughs, curling into Aigis even more.

"Get us out of here, Rise," Yu orders and Himiko flashes.

Long summer days, short summer nights.

Mitsuo is apprehended but nothing feels ended. There's no closure. So Yu waits and bides her time, growing her Social Links. She fishes with Yosuke, trains with Chie, talks with Yukiko, knits with Kanji, and sings with Rise. She plays trumpet and comforts Naoki, drinks coffee with Dojima and draws with Nanako. She grows and grows. And through it all is the constant presence of a familiar face. Minako and Aigis watch over her like older sisters, but not really, since two sisters don't date each other.

Before the Team heads to Tatsumi Port Island, Minako gives Yu a phone number, "in case you ever have free time there!" On their off day after interrogating Naoto, she calls the number.

"Hello?" The voice picks up after two rings. "Who is this?"

"This is, uh, Yu Narukami. I was given this number by a mutual friend? Her name's Minako Arisato."

"I see. I am Mitsuru Kirijo, your friend's senpai. Let me call up some old friends. You're a Persona user, aren't you?"

"Yes, Kirijo-san."

"I get called that all day long by old men who want to take advantage of my youth and run my business. Call me senpai."

Yu and the Team sit down across from Minako's mysterious friends. One is a woman, probably Mitsuru Kirijo. She looks like how she sounds on the phone, imposing and powerful. Next to her are two young men, approximately Mitsuru's age if Yu can guess. The one on her right has white hair and well-defined muscles through his short-sleeved shirt, a bandage over his eye. The other man has on a white chef's coat and a dark beanie, slumped over.

"I believe introductions should be made. How about we introduce ourselves, our Personas and arcana?"

"Sounds good. I'm Akihiko Sanada. Star, Caesar. Nice to meet you all."

"Shinjiro Aragaki. Moon. Osiris."

"And I am Mitsuru Kirijo, of the Empress arcana. I use Artemesia. We represent the Shadow Operatives. It's nice to meet you all."

The Investigation Team introduces themselves and they can feel themselves being judged by their predecessors.

"So," Aragaki says, shuffling in his chair, "why bring up this shit? Who put you up to this?"

"W-well, Aragaki-san, I was given senpai's number by Minako. Minako Arisato?"

"No shit? Well damn. Ask away. I know you've got questions. 'Bout Shadows, Personas, you name it."

Yu smiles and begins to ask.

Hours pass until Yu gets a reminder on her phone that they have fifteen minutes until they have to be back at the hotel for the night. The Team hastily makes their apologies and good wishes and herd out of Mitsuru's living room. In the distance they hear Yosuke's whine about not knowing how to get out of her huge house.

"So," Mitsuru broaches. "They seem nice."

"Seem like they're gonna get up to a whole mess of trouble." Shinjiro responds, standing up and stretching. "My shift at the diner starts soon. Later, Kirijo. Aki."

"See ya, Shinji. I'm heading out too, Mitsuru. I've got homework to do." Mitsuru smiles at this and nods, closing her eyes.

"A pleasure as always."

She knows Yu has one last little thing to take back to Minako in Inaba, and is thankful her kouhai found such a lovely group of friends to continue the fight.

She also makes sure to ask some agents to very quietly investigate Inaba.

When the Team returns, Yu immediately goes to Minako's bakery to hand over Mitsuru's gift. They make small talk before Yu hands over the gift and Aigis looks over Minako's shoulder to see what it is. As she unwraps the gift she tears up and lowers her head into her hands.

Lying there on the table are a pair of red headphones, with a note written by everyone in S.E.E.S. There's even a little paw-print in the corner.

She shakes her head and Aigis's arms curl around her even tighter.

"You want some food, Yu-chan?"

"Always, senpai."

And then, Naoto appears on the Midnight Channel.

Yu hates false endings.


	5. Detective

"Man, Ken-kun would get a kick out of this place." Minako dodges left, avoiding an Agidyne and summoning Orpheus. It shatters and strums its harp, Ziodyne echoing out and knocking the Shadow down.

"Why's that?" Aigis jumps back and fires, bullets spraying from her fingertips as she lands. She calls Athena and she sweeps through the Shadows.

"Looks like something out of Featherman." And it indeed is. Inside Naoto's Secret Laboratory, it certainly has that kid's cartoon-vibe.

"Senpai, I don't mean to be rude, but can you focus? We gotta get Naoto outta here!" Kanji bashes a Shadow in with his steel plate, stomping on its remains for good measure.

"I am focused, Kanji-kun!" Messiah springs forth and ice shatters the fields, Yu slipping in to whisper commands to the rest of the Team.

"I know you have a crush on Naoto-kun, but rushing isn't going to solve anything!"

"Ah-senpai! What the hell?! I just admire him, s'all!"

Yukiko giggles as Konohana Sakuya spread fire through the battlefield, Tomoe following behind with a vicious strike. They make their way through the Lab, trashing the Shadows as they went. As always, Yu leads the Team, Youske by her side. Following are Minako and Aigis, Kanji at the side and Yukiko and Chie making sure that they were all safe. Rise trails in the middle of the herd of Teammates, sometimes having to hold someone's hand so she didn't run into a wall. Just because Himiko let her See she couldn't see.

"So," Minako muses, as Naoto makes her way back home, flanked by Chie and Yukiko.

"Naoto's a girl."

"Seems like it, senpai." Yu kicks at the Junes flooring as the rest of the Team make their way home, Teddie badgering Yosuke as usual.

"Doesn't really matter to me. Gender's a dumb concept anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Gender's a social construct. But hey, Naoto-chan says she's a girl and so she is. It's all part of the struggle. We all have them."

"Just like how your struggle was dying?"

"Hehe."

"Uh, hello?" Naoto opens the door to Wiping All Out, where Minako is fiddling with some dials on her oven.

"Hey! Naoto-kun!" Minako calls, standing up and taking off her baking mitts, smiling at the detective.

"Good to see you! Isn't it still school, though?"

"No, I got out early. I wanted to ask you a few questions since you're free."

"Of course. What's up?"

"Okay. First, is Aigis-san a robot?"

"Yes."

"What happened in there?"

"You mean in your dungeon? Yeah it's a little weird. Welcome to the Team, by the by. The club 'where we summon gods and mythical entities to find the truth', is how Yu would put it."

"Uh? Thanks?"

"Yep!"

The two talk the afternoon away, Minako continuously slipping the detective more and more baked goods. Kids these days needed to eat more.

With the case seemingly still underway, the Team trains even harder. Some days members show up with new Personas, completed. Others, Yu spends with her friends, maxing Social Links and developing herself. She hears herself in town - that Yu Narukami, runs with a gang member, kisses girls, hangs out at that bakery a lot.

Well. They're all true. Mostly. Just one girl, though.

Recently.

Marie, Marie, she could write poems about the girl who's so captured her heart. What is it about Aeon girls who so draw Fools? Kaguya sits out of reach, she's not strong enough to craft her love out of the Sea of her Soul, but she writes her love in between kisses and touches.

She's spent a long time with Marie.

'Whore dont rescue anymore' good grief. What is this? Some kind of joke? A death threat? Minako picks up the note taped to her door, Aigis petting the cat behind her. She needs to tell the Team about this.

"Well," Naoto looks closely at the letter with a critical eye, as the Team is gathered in Minako's bakery. Unnoticed, Adachi walks by.

"Looks well-made. No sign of who made this. All the figures are cut up from newspapers and magazines so as not to belie the author's true identity. Arisato-san, do you mind if I keep this?"

"Ugh! Naoto, call me Minako or senpai! You'll make me feel old." Minako pouts and the Team laughs as they all chime in, "it makes her feel old!"

Minako laughs and leans onto Aigis's shoulder, ponytail swaying. The robotic maiden giggles, and Minako loves how she is so human. More than actual humans, some times. Ah, well.

Of course Dojima and Adachi have to be there when Minako goes to work alone and the next note shows up. She's in the middle of reading 'stupid slut if you dont stop someone close will be put in dumb -'

"Hey, what is that? God, is that a death threat?" Dojima comes up behind her and reads the note, eyes widening.

"Huh?"

"Arisato-san? I think you should come with us."

She shoots off a quick text to Aigis not to worry, and goes along with the two detectives.

"Huh?" The Team say as they walk up to the bakery after school to see it closed. Aigis is sitting nearby, phone held loosely in her hand.

She's - is she crying?

A few hours ago -

Minako sits in the room again, but this time there's a large TV. She looks at the cup of lukewarm coffee - is it the same when she was here earlier in the year? Who knows. She's tried telling Dojima the truth but he doesn't believe her. Who would?

She's alone when Adachi comes in, a cruel smile on his face. "Adachi-san? What's going on? Wait-"

"So!" He says and his face returns placid. "Pushed into a TV, huh? Think you could fit in this one?"

"Probably? I don't know. I can't get in. Usually Yu does. She's the leader, not me." At this his face turns downtrodden before it brightens.

"Like this, huh?" He drawls and sticks his hand through the monitor, screen contorting. As she opens her mouth, he lunges at her and presses his gun to her head.

"Shh. Good little bitches should be obedient, like you will be. And when you show up dead, only that little blonde slut will really care." He sneers and Minako _moves_ , going for him. But he's fast enough to take a step back and keep the gun leveled at her heart.

"Ah-ah-ah! Hate to have your pretty little heart splattered everywhere." He keeps the gun trained on her and motions her into the TV. Reluctant, she sends a message through the Sea of Souls, to Aigis.

 _Betrayal_.

"You moron," She growls as he forces her in.

"Just think," he says, smiling, as he lifts her leg up, "that a darling like you could be the killer."

"DOJIMA! SOMEONE! AIGIS!"

"I swear, Dojima-san, she was there and then she darted! She's the real killer!" Adachi whines, Dojima furious.

"God DAMMIT Adachi! Call Shirogane and get 'em over here. Tell them to bring everything they know about the television."

So the plot goes as this, Naoto thinks. Taro Namatame: killer. While Dojima and Yu were out, and with Nanako appearing on the news the other day, she was kidnapped by Namatame. Was pursued by Ryotaro Dojima and both his car and Namatame's truck were flipped. Current status: missing. Presumed in the TV.

Ryotaro Dojima: Yu's uncle and detective. Lead investigator for the murder case. After reading the second threat, he took Minako Arisato to the police station where she vanished. After Senpai's disappearance he called Naoto for information on the television. After some ideas on how the killer operated, he rushed to stop Namatame but was stopped by bad weather conditions. Begged the Team to stop the murders and save his daughter. Current status: hospitalized. Severe damage.

Nanako Dojima: Yu's cousin and practically little sister. Appeared on the news and was then kidnapped by Namatame. Assumed to be in dungeon in TV world. Current status: TV world.

Minako Arisato: Team's senpai and owner of bakery that the Team visits frequently. Was taken to police station after Dojima and Adachi saw the second death threat. Disappeared into TV world under mysterious circumstances, especially since she cannot enter on her own. Adachi went on record to say she forced herself out, but there's nothing on tape to indicate such. Does not fit the expected pattern since she did not show up on the Midnight Channel. Teddie has sensed her dungeon has appeared in the TV world regardless. Current status: missing.

Aigis: Senpai's lover and constant companion. Robotic maiden. Terrified and frightened that senpai is unreachable. Formulating plans to recover senpai and Nanako, and hopefully capture Namatame simultaneously. Current status: enraged.

It's...not a good day in the neighborhood.

Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ Minako wakes up harshly, sore. Now she realizes the plot. Adachi's the killer. He forced her in, which means he has the power to throw people into the TV world. Alas, Minako does not know about Namatame or anything that has happened. All she can hear is Thanatos's rage. She summons him and he screams, Mahamaon screeching out. He draws his sword and slashes at the floor, and only then does Minako look around at her dungeon.

She freezes. She's on the peak of a tower, where all those years ago she fought -

It's also where she died.

" **Well I see you're up now. It's not good to keep a princess waiting, you know**." She looks up to see -

Well, herself. Her Shadow sits on a throne cobbled together from the SEES members, plus Aigis's sister, Metis. They're all dressed how they were during their heyday, and she sits on top. Her piercing golden eyes hold malice, and she's wearing a fancy Western medieval dress. Her hairpins are missing and her hair is curled elegantly.

"So. You must be the Shadow me." She realizes why she can only feel Thanatos. Orpheus and Messiah must be...her Shadow now, but since Thanatos is special, she still has him. She summons him again and he hovers above her, breathing heavily.

" **A plus! Give it up for Minako Arisato, the Cheerful Deceased Messiah of Death!** " Her shadow jeers, and the Shadows applaud.

"So? You going to taunt me? Get me to reject you so you become empowered? You can't exist since I'm still supposed to have my Personas. What are you? How do you have Orpheus and Messiah?"

" **...** " Her Shadow does nothing but lean back, caressing the Aigis on her throne's face.

" **You'll wait for your new friends to get here. I want them all to see your downfall. Especially Aigis.** "

Flames burn and surround Minako and she screams, as does Thanatos.

"COME ON! DIE FOR ME!" Card soldiers descend from the heavens, and pulverize the Shadows holding up Shadow Minako, who collapses elegantly.

" **So it's come to this. Alright then! Morning Star!** " Shadow Minako yells and gestures, a pulse of light impacting the ground. Minako rolls to the side, drawing her naginata and breaking into a sprint. Thanatos throws Megidolaon and her Shadow takes it to the face, yelling. They stand at opposite ends of the tower, before her Shadow rips off her dress to reveal her old school uniform.

They charge.

The Team has a choice.

"It's either we rescue Nanako or senpai. I don't know if we have enough time or energy to rescue both. Plus, we'd still have to confront Namatame in Nanako's dungeon. Or who knows what to expect from senpai's dungeon?" Yosuke muses, looking in the distance. To the right lies Heaven, already scoped out. And to the left, lies Minako's dungeon. It is shrouded in darkness, but Aigis knows what it is.

"I'm going after Minako regardless. Those that want to come can. If not, fine."

"Calm down!" Yu yells, getting into the blonde's face.

"We are not fighting like this! Two of our loved ones are in danger and we can't afford this. If you want to go off, fine. But don't go alone. I'm going after my little sister."

"I'm sorry. She...means a lot to me."

"That's like saying water is wet," Rise jokes and Naoto nudges her in the side.

"Okay. Yosuke-kun, Chie-chan, Yukiko-chan and Teddie with me. Aigis-san, take Kanji-kun, Rise-chan, and Naoto-kun. Understood?"

"No. It's fine. I'll go alone." Aigis walks off until Yu stops her.

"Did you not hear what I said?!"

"Yu. I have the entire Wild Card at my disposal. The Sea of Souls is bared for me, calling out to me to utilize its power."

She evokes, and from the shattered glass arises Messiah.

"I am sorry. But you are strong enough to go on without me. This is something I must do on my own."

Aigis runs off, and doesn't look back. Yu shrugs, sighs, and asks Rise to lead them towards Nanako and Namatame.

Aigis isn't looking for Minako's dungeon per se, but more for Minako herself. She has a unique energy signature that emanates not only from her person, but also from Aigis's heart. She follows the link, and winds up at a familiar tower.

"Tartarus. Of course. Wait for me, Minako."


	6. Tower Climb

Up on the top of Tartarus, Minako feels like she's been fighting for days. She and her Shadow self are evenly matched, constantly throwing out spells and attacks with no reprieve. She doesn't know how long it's been since she started fighting, all she hears is Thanatos's breathing and her own shouts. She jumps over her Shadow's naginata, their shafts locking together. She spins back, her Shadow pressing, and Thanatos erupts from her core, slashing at her Shadow. It recoils back, blood trailing before casting Hamaon. Minako dives, casting Maragidyne, and fire spreads over the tower.

She breathes deeply, but aside from the cuts littering its body, her Shadow seems fine.

And off in the distance, she feels a familiar presence.

Aigis.

She smiles at this, because how could she not? She hunches over and charges, naginata pulled back. She yells, and their blades clash.

"What is this place?" Rise asks as the Investigation Team steps into Heaven. Flowers, bright lights, dangerous Shadows. Kanzeon appears and covers Rise's eyes as she scans.

"Hey! Partner!" Yosuke calls as Yu storms down the walkway, long braids flailing out behind her.

"What?" She snarls, blood in her eyes.

"If you just rush on like that, you'll die! We know you're worried but you can't do this!"

"Senpai, please! We need you!" Rise pleads, holding Yu's hand.

"I'm sorry, guys. It's just..."

"We get it! You're concerned! Well guess what, we all are!" Chie scolds, but subsides when Yukiko lays a placating hand on the brawler's shoulder. "But going off on your own won't help."

"..." Yu sighs and crosses her arms and stares dead ahead.

"Senpai?" Kanji comes up to her, "are you crying?"

Yu's response is to sniffle. She's supposed to be the leader! How can she be a good leader if she's compromised?

"Ohh, senpai!" Rise says and wraps her in a hug, burying her face in Yu's back.

"It's alright if you cry. It's because you care. If you didn't, we wouldn't be here."

"R-right. As always, you guys are right. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for crying, partner." Youske stands next to her, tapping his foot to the rhythm from his headphones. "Just means you're human."

"Yeah," Yu wipes her eyes with her sleeves. "Yeah, I am. And we're going to go save Nanako and stop Namatame. Let's do this." This time, when she charges down the pathway, the Team follows her.

Aigis...doesn't know how long she's been climbing. The Shadows get tougher the higher she gets, but she still wipes the floor with them, to use a human phrase. Haha, human phrase. There, on Tartarus's main floor, was a door to the Velvet Room, and she cleaned out her money to refuse some Personas. When Minako was taken, Messiah instantly went back to her, but it's her Messiah that she used in the Abyss, not Minako's that she's used since they arrived in Inaba. Messiah's passive face is joined by Odin, Surt, Skadi, Norn, and her ever-present Athena. She's not too worried about her health or magic since Messiah has Victory Cry, but still. She presses on.

This time in the tower, the guardians are gone, leaving just a slew of common Shadows blocking her from the one she most loves.

They will not stop her.

Not now. Not ever.

 _Minako_ , she thinks. She prays it, even, a strangely human concept.

 _Wait for me._

"Don't spout bullshit!" Yu snarls, vengeful. "Give me back my sister! You're not saving anyone! You're killing them!"

"B-but the people I put in were saved! All your friends with you now I threw in, and look! They were saved! They were right!" Namatame huddles over, holding Nanako closer.

"'They'?" Naoto asks, narrowing her eyes at the older man. "Who is 'they'? Who gave you this idea? Did you shove Minako-senpai in here?"

"Who? I didn't shove anyone that didn't show up on the Midnight Channel! I saved them!"

Yu hears Izanami goad her on as her vision turns red.

Then, Namatame is possessed and turns into Kunino-sagiri. Great.

"PERSONA!" She calls and the Team attacks. Her blood _sings_ as they press the advantage.

Finally, after what feels like years, Aigis reaches the top. Physically, she's fine, but she feels drained. Athena hovers behind her and looks at her. Athena is never good at verbal cues, but with the "I am thou" clause, Aigis knows what her Persona is thinking.

 _Go._

She climbs up the last few steps to see a - well, it's mass destruction. On one side is her Minako (she can always tell), with blood running over her right eye and her naginata is stained red. Across from her must be her Shadow, if it wasn't obvious from the golden eyes.

"STOP!" She yells, and the two Minakos quiet.

" **Finally, the guest of honor appears!** " The Shadow crows, before ducking under Minako's wild punch. It doesn't avoid Thanatos's sword.

"Aigis, don't listen to her!"

" **Oh? Afraid I'll tell the truth? That there's some part of you that still hates her for what you did, hates her for what she did to your parents? How she put a** _ **monster**_ **in you?** "

"No! I forgave her for that a long time ago!"

" **HAHAH! What bullshit! Or maybe...you wish you were still dead. Still on the Seal and not here. You worthless trash. You can't fulfill your purpose! Worthless! Useless! You should just die!** "

"NO! You're - "

"MINAKO! DON'T SAY IT!" Aigis dashes to Minako's side and hugs her, silencing her.

"You are not worthless! You are someone who has meaning and a purpose! You have me and I have you! Don't you remember? I can't fight you, Minako. Don't do this."

"Aigis..." Minako breathes, and tears streak her face.

" **Worthless! You're all trash! Well, I don't need your rejection! The loophole still holds! I am you and you are me! If I can't be accepted, I'll tear you both apart!** "

Her Shadow explodes out in a crescendo of purple energy, Minako passes out, and the last thing she sees is Aigis's surprised face.

Yu is alone.

Again.

Opposing her stand her friends, controlled by the Sagiri as it commands them to rain destruction on her.

"Please..." She coughs violently, and blood spatters out. "Don't do this..."

But she looks up, into Heaven, and hears her sister's voice.

"B-big...sis...don't give up...because...I believe in you..." And Sraosha emerges from the Sea of her Soul.

"Justice..." Yu mutters, and stands up. In Sraosha's place, Izanami forms and holds a hand out to her. Yu takes it, and is pulled up, the strength returning to her bones. She brandishes her katana and Sraosha reappears. Yu waves her hand, and the chains that bind her friends snap, and they stammer over.

"COME ON, KUNINO-SAGIRI!" Yu shouts, and a wave of shattering cards forms behind her. "YOUR DAYS ARE OVER!"

She crushes her card.

Minako's Shadow's berserk form is everything that Minako isn't - terrifying. Malice oozes from her every pore, but she looks the same. No ugly transformation, just a drastic power increase, and Aigis still has to protect Minako. Is this what happened when Yu fought Shadow Yosuke? She doesn't know. All she knows is the feel of reloading her gun and the call of her Personas.

Blue fire surrounds the robot's feet that only grows with each passing second.

"PERSONA!" She calls, and Athena appears. The two run forward to meet the Shadow's charge, and Aigis catches the naginata blade on her wristguard. The two move in a blur, blade clashing on steel. The Shadow can call on and use spells with no needed Persona, but Aigis is experienced enough to trust Athena to work on her own.

" **I've always hated you,** " the Shadow growls as she jumps back to throw a Ziodyne. Aigis shifts to Odin and nullifies the attack, countering with Thunder Reign. She closes in, firing at the Shadow. The hits land, but the damage is still minimal.

" **You just hold me as I fucking die on the school roof? You sealed Death into my head you bitch! How could I ever love you?** "

"Because you are not Minako. She cares about everything! She chose to keep fighting when we were consumed by despair! Come, Messiah! Morning Star!"

Almighty energy covers the roof.

Minako blearily wakes up to the shouting and concussive blasts of energy. She can feel her Shadow doing something. Something involving every lie and falsehood covering the tower pulled in for one strike. Aigis - no!

She leaps up as her Shadow does, preparing a mighty attack. It focuses and energy concentrates in its naginata's blade.

Aigis!

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Aigis turns to see Minako running up to their fight, leaping in front of her as she catches her Shadow's attack with her bare hands. And yet - the attack is halted.

" **How are you this strong? How can you resist this much power?!** "

"Because I have to! You are me, you moron! I used to think that Aigis was to blame for everything, but she did what she could!" Minako shifts her stance and pushes back. "Memento mori! Remember that you must die! The second truth of this universe! But just because - " Minako falters, but Aigis slips under her to grab her shoulders, and lifts her hand to block the attack.

"Just because you die doesn't mean to be afraid! It means to have no regrets. That's what I promised! That is my answer! You are me, and I am you!"

And finally, it ends. The malicious energy fades away to nothing as Aigis helps Minako, shifting her into her arms.

"So what if I gave up my position on the Seal? I sometimes might wish I was dead. But that would be knowing that Aigis would have to be alone again, and I can't accept that. But. We are the same. Right? Orpheus?"

Shadow Minako smiles, and fades to Orpheus - not Orpheus Telos, but her original Persona. It transmorgifies through all her Personas - before settling on Orpheus Telos. Aigis evokes Messiah and it shimmers, signifying its shift to its original owner. And finally, Thanatos appears, until Minako's three Personas are floating before her.

"Sorry about this, Aigis."

"Do not worry about it. I am here. But how did you get in the TV?"

"You'll never believe this shit. It was..."

"Adachi-san?" The Team asks at once, in perfect synchrony.

"Yeah. You know I can't get in on my own. He forced me in. Sure, Namatame might have the power as well, but he didn't kill the victims. He thought he was saving them."

"That reminds me," Naoto interrupts Minako's explanation, tipping her hat down. "When we confronted Namatame in his dungeon, he mentioned someone putting him up to this. From a given perspective...that could be Adachi. Someone who knew about the TV and knew what was on the other side. The suspect list doesn't get any smaller."

Yu looks pensive, ideas running through her mind, to the Jester Social Link. Could it be Adachi?

"Hello uncle. Adachi-san. We had a few questions."

Yu walks into Dojima's room, Minako and the Team behind them. As Minako steps in, her eyes go sub-zero, and Adachi freezes.

"Oh! Arisato-san! Did you know we have a warrant for your arrest?" Adachi says, slipping his hand toward Dojima's coffee.

Within moments, it is spilled on the ground, and Adachi is bolting for the exit. He somehow gets through the Team as Yu slams her hand on the call button.

She notes he's heading for the interrogation room. When they arrive, all that's left is a still-warm television set.

Gone.

Yu rests her hand on the cooling monitor just as Dojima enters the room. He sees the ripples around her hand as it goes through, but she pulls it back.

"So. I guess your senpai was telling the truth. I don't care what happens, just...just get Adachi out of there."

"Yes, uncle."

"Quickly, too. Your little sister's waiting for you, you know."

Yu thinks of Nanako, unconscious on the hospital bed and clenches her fist.

"I know, uncle. Thank you."

"We're family, right? Just go."


	7. Flatline

No, no, no. Flatline. Flatline, flatline, _flatline_

Wake _up_ , Nanako, wake _up!_

One single beep.

Failure.

And yet.

A fundamental truth.

At midnight, with Teddie gone and Yu huddled over Nanako's still form, there is...

A blip.

 _Life_.

For the second time in who knows how many days, Yu cried.

"Finally, you brats show up! You kept me waiting long enough. Back when I was a student all I could do was study and do work. Look at you shits, parading around like you're better than me!" Adachi shouts at the Team as they ignore him, feeling around the room. He disappears, only for Minako to duck and swing, fist flying through Adachi's head.

"You _bitch_! Why couldn't you just stay dead? What are you?" He stumbles back and vanishes again, and the room dissolves into Magatsu Inaba.

"I'm already dead, Adachi."

"What is _wrong with you_?!" Adachi's voice calls through the yellow mists, swirling over the Team's feet.

"This is our final battle," Yu turns and smiles, a hand resting on the hilt of her katana. "Are you with me?"

The Team cheers.

Deep down, Yu doesn't hate Adachi. Wait. No, she really does hate him, she does hate him a lot. The world kills people? He kills people! He killed people for fun. Because he enjoyed it. Because he was fucking bored. Yu - Yu loves this town. She imagines Inaba growing and growing because of the love everyone has for this small backwater town. She loves this town for all its faults and flaws, because there are people who care. She isn't fighting for revenge for Minako or everyone else (Aigis might disagree) but - but.

But she is fighting for those she loves. Marie, Minako, Aigis, Yosuke, Chie, _everyone_.

Her Personas call out to her, and they _sing_.

"COME ON! MAGATSU-IZANAMI!" Adachi clutches his head and the blood-red Magatsu-Izanami bursts forth, sinister.

 _Everyone has secrets_ , Izanami whispers to Yu as Adachi powers up, using Heat Riser. Yu fixes her grip on her katana and motions for the Team to spread out. Teddie goes first, summoning the new Kamui to attack with ice, followed by the rest of the Team attacking. Throughout it, Adachi just laughs and shrugs off attacks with impunity.

"Mangle them, Magatsu-Izanami!" Adachi yells and blood-red lightning shatters the field, Yu and Kanji covering Yosuke and Teddie respectively. In the distance, they hear rattling of chains and rumblings of Shadows.

"Yu!" Minako shouts as she evokes Messiah. "Aigis and I'll take the Team and keep the Shadows and Reapers off your back! You handle the dick!" Yu nods as Adachi splutters, and Minako leads the Team down the hill. Yu closes her eyes and focuses, Izanami forming behind her. Her constant companion fizzles briefly before both Izanamis ready their naginatas and charge.

"I've always hated you," Adachi sneers from the dust cloud as the loud sounds of Persona combat erupts. "Your perfect life with your perfect friends and perfect grades and perfect girlfriend! Bitches like you should just be quiet and do your job!" Magatsu-Izanami slashes Izanami down and stomps on her with her heel. Yu recoils in pain and falls to the ground, immobilized. She can _feel_ every impact that Magatsu-Izanami makes on her own Izanami, and she coughs heavily. She wipes her mouth, and is surprised to find saliva and not blood.

"See, the thing you high school idiots don't get is that if you don't have the magic talent, you're screwed," Adachi muses, tipping over a chair to sit on it, idly flipping his gun.

"You know, the only reason I joined the police was to carry a gun. It's a lot power." He stands up and moves over to Yu, his Persona stabbing through Yu's as she screams.

"Back when I was a student all I could do was study and work my ass off. I suffered enough, and now," he levels the barrel of his gun against Yu's cheek, mushing it against her face. After a tense moment, he walks off, swinging his gun idly. Magatsu-Izanami pulls her naginata out of Izanami, and Yu feels the blade leaving her stomach.

"Now I get to enjoy the benefits. What did you think was going to happen? Say you caught me. The focus would shift, but eventually nothing would change. Namatame's the killer, and that's what the people will think. That's the truth that you're looking for," Magatsu-Izanami plants a bladed foot through Izanami's hand and Yu screams.

" _Like it or not_." Magatsu-Izanami disappears in a static haze, manifesting behind her owner.

Yu breathes deeply and stands up, ache echoing up her entire body. She grips her katana and settles into her ready stance and a curious sort of calm washes over her.

"Fuck you, Adachi! You think you've suffered? That's naïve. Everyone's suffered. We've all struggled. And yet, in your ignorance, you think you're special. We all have the power to change our fates. That is the truth!" Izanami renews herself and catches Magatsu-Izanami off-guard, Ziodyne echoing throughout the arena.

The two Personas continue fighting, blades echoing as Adachi fires wildly. Yu closes and swings, Adachi ducking her blow. The detective howls and Magarudyne blasts Yu, sending her flying to the ground. Yu kips up and yells, Izanami following closely behind her.

"You never know when to give up, do you? Fine with me! I'll enjoy this!" Adachi screeches and uses Power Charge. Vorpal Blade tears towards Yu, who vaults over the shockwave and rolls. Izanami disarms her twin and catches her naginata in her left hand.

"IZANAMI! LET'S FINISH THIS! CROSS...SLASH!" Yu slashes from left to right as Izanami performs a dual vertical slice. Adachi screams, spit flying, and collapses.

Wait, what's this disco eyeball doing? Why is there another boss after Adachi?

"Of course I'd be done in by a brat like you," Adachi moans from his spot on the stretcher as he is loaded on the ambulance. Yu is _tired_. The whole Team is, in fact. Yosuke and Kanji are already leading Teddie back to the Hanamura residence, Yukiko leans heavily on Chie, Rise faints dramatically into Naoto's arms, and Aigis has been holding Minako in her arms for a good half-hour.

"I pity my uncle for being paired up with a guy like you."

"Bitch."

"Did all the time with the Dojimas and I mean nothing? Did our bond mean nothing?"

"Ah...I'm tired. Leave me alone. My game's done. You win. Figures I'd be stopped by some punk girl..."

Despite the case ending, the Velvet Room is still open.

Seasons fade and snow coats Inaba.

Yu fuses more and more gods and goddesses. Asura, Yoshitsune, Norn, Vishnu, Shiva. She misses the cute monsters from earlier. Just a bunch of cranky spirits is all she gets these days. Yu leaves the Velvet Room to see little kids streaming into Minako's bakery. Aigis is outside holding a sign detailing free hot chocolate for those under ten.

"Hey Aigis-san."

"Hello, Yu-san. How are you doing? You are not under ten and thus do not get free hot chocolate, but I am sure Minako-san would love to see you."

"Sounds good to me."

Christmas rings through the town, and Minako and Aigis go to all the Teams' houses to drop off little goodies. Minako tried to get Aigis to wear her old Santa suit but Aigis puts her foot down. The last house they go to is the Dojimas', where Nanako and Dojima are back from the hospital.

"Merry Christmas!" Minako chimes, handing a bag of cookies to a smiling Dojima.

"Hello Arisato-san. Aigis-san. Come on in, it's cold outside. Marie and Yu are up in Yu's room, so we'll not bother them." Minako sniggers at this and nudges Aigis, who smiles in response.

"Did you know you're officially listed as dead?" Dojima asks as he brings the two into the living room, sitting under the kotatsu.

"Yep."

"Did you fake your death?"

"No, I actually died. It's complicated. But, you do deserve an explanation after...all this."

"I think that would be helpful."

"You know," Marie muses from Yu's arms, "this is really nice. I don't really get your Christmas or whatever..." she yawns, "but this is nice."

"Yeah," Yu presses a kiss to Marie's crown, her hat thrown aside, "it really is. I do love you, you know."

"Will you...will you teach me about love?"

Yu spent a long time with Marie that night.

"Man, when you put it like that..." Dojima takes a long swig of coffee. "This is nuts."

"Tell me about it," Minako agrees, leaning onto Aigis's shoulder.

"So let me get this straight. You summon gods to do battle with the repressed emotions of the town on the other side of the TV. Adachi had the power to throw people in, as does my niece who uses it for good. Your...partner is a robot. And you died. Did I get everything?"

"Yes. Well done, Dojima-san." Aigis says, and rubs Minako's shoulder.

"Please, call me Ryotaro. You've done so much for my family and this town. I can't thank you enough."

"Three...two...one...happy new year!"

Minako leaps onto Aigis and presses their lips together, and Chie and Yukiko blush prettily as they kiss. Yosuke and Teddie wolf-whistle, only for Naoto to cuff the back of their heads. Minako and Aigis lean their foreheads together and laugh, and snowflakes begin to fall.

"Happy new year, Aigis."

"Happy new year, Minako."

Yu goes to the shrine later that day, and see Minako and Aigis in yukatas, praying before the golden gates. She can see Minako's lips moving as Aigis stares at her, smiling. Blushing.

Yu gives her new year's greetings to her friends, but her mood dies when Margaret tells her Marie is gone. Soon after, she goes home and crawls under the covers.

 _Yu..._

 _Yu..._

 _Forget about me._

 _I love you, but I have to leave._

 _The fog is gone, but I won't be able to see the peaceful world you made._

 _I do love you, moron. Don't make that face. This is for the best._

"Please, Margaret-san. I'm begging you. Whatever you can do to find her..."

"I will. I know how much she means to you."

"Hey Yu-chan! You want anything?" Minako calls from the counter, one hand in Aigis's, the other wrapped around a steaming drink.

"I'm good, thanks. Just wanted to check in."

"Well, isn't that sweet! Actually, I have something to give to you. A...keepsake. I'm sure you've received plenty already from your social links, but I want you to have something."

"Oh?" Yu moves over to their table, sitting down and sliding her jacket off. Minako moves opposite her and places her headphones on the table.

"These will allow you to hear when all is quiet. Right now, they won't do anything, but you'll know when you'll need to use them. Consider this...a passing of ideas. I want you to keep finding the truth. And I want you to help the next set of Persona users like I did."

"Minako..." Yu mumbles, and the World completes.

"Thank you, Minako. For everything."

"Don't thank me yet, kiddo," Minako closes Yu's fingers around the red headphones, "we've still got a ways to go. Call it a dead woman's hunch, but it's not over yet."

January seeps by into February. March looms closer. Yu watches as her friends reach completion, Kouzeon, Kamui Moshiri, Yamato Sumeragi to name a few.

Margaret hasn't called in a while to update her on Marie's whereabouts, but Yu feels something in the pit of her stomach. She reads something about Kaguya - impossible tasks that no man could complete for her hand.

Good thing she's a woman. She packs a bag with a few day's worth of clothes and some ski gear Dojima had lying around.

She might as well enjoy one of the last few times she'll spend with all her friends. But it will be funny to see if Aigis can ski.


	8. Snowflakes

Surprisingly, Aigis can ski rather well. Minako bundled her up pretty well, and the two spend the day skiing the gentle slopes. Yu and the rest of the Team laugh as Teddie falls his way down the mountain, Aigis stopping his giant snowball at the base of the mountain.

"Hey Aigis! Can you help me...warm up~" Minako whispers into Aigis's ear, and Yu can see steam arise from her ear. The robot pushes Minako against a nearby wall and goes for Minako's neck, and Yu thinks she hears Minako moan. She's too busy being creeped out.

"How is that, Minako? Or should we...take this inside?"

"Ew! I really don't want to see senpai's foreplay, please and thank you!" Rise scoffs, and Yosuke blushes. Minako laughs and pushes Aigis off, pulling her scarf up a bit.

It's...surprisingly peaceful and quiet on the slopes. The case is...well...closed. For all intents and purposes. But something nags on the edge of Yu's mind, and when she pats her side, she feels the edges of a bamboo comb.

Night falls, and Minako retreats into the kitchen of their abode to cook dinner for the Team. Sizzling and popping comes from the stove, as Minako expertly makes three dishes at once.

"Geez, senpai!" Rise looks over Minako's shoulder, "I didn't know you could cook! Bet you're better than all us girls," she pouts.

"It tasted like lava," Yu whispers, shuddering as she remembers Mystery Food. Yosuke lays a placating hand on her shoulder, also remembering the horrors of Mystery Food.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good," Minako boasts, flipping the fried rice in one hand while she stirs a pot with the other. "Hey, Aigis. Can you check the oven?" The robot lays her hand on the oven glass, without recoiling.

"The oven is at an acceptable temperature for cooking." Minako bustles over to put a tray laden with veggies into the oven. "Get ready, everyone! Dinner's gonna be ready in about fifteen minutes." The Team cheers and settles around the table, Yukiko going around and pouring tea for everyone.

"Woah! This is amazing!" Chie gushes as Minako and Aigis leave the kitchen, laden with food. Omelette with fried rice, paella, spicy tomato pasta, the works.

"Alright!" Teddie cheers and stands up, knocking his chair back. "Let's give thanks for our food! Thanks, senpais!"

"Thank you!" The Team cheers, and Minako laughs, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, anytime. I'm not just a good baker, you know! Also, give it up for Aigis, too." The Team claps again, and the robot blushes.

The table is silent as everyone digs in, only broken by people asking to pass more food or more tea.

"And sometimes...there's a man, still at Gekkoukan high, who will eat...anything!" Minako flashes her torch under her face, dramatically. Yukiko and Chie are clinging to each other, as is Rise to Naoto. The guys are huddled together, whimpering.

"They say that he's even eaten human flesh...that nothing escapes his lustful gaze for food! And that at night, he goes into peoples' homes...a lot like this one...hungering for more...and...he's...right here!" The Team screams, and Aigis turns the lights on.

"Holy hard nipples! Senpai, is that true?" Yosuke shivers, as Minako shifts her blanket over her shoulders.

"Yep!"

The Team's howls echo through the night.

Yu leads the rest of the girls into the dilapidated cabin, shutting the door behind her with a thud. They've got no choice but to wait out the storm, especially since the phones have no connection.

"So! Who's up for more scary stories?" Minako laughs, curled in Aigis's arms.

"NO!" They all respond.

It's only a short time later until the guys arrive and the TV sucks them all in.

"What's...what's going on? Are we in the TV world?" Minako asks, stretching.

"Wait, why are we all in our uniforms? What's going on here?" Naoto says, pushing herself up off the ground. She's correct, the Team is in their usual battle attire instead of their ski gear, and in front of them is a woman in blue.

"Hello, Margaret. Good to see you." Yu walks up to her, "Team, this is Margaret. She's from the Velvet Room, and I've asked her to help me find Marie since she disappeared. Given that we're here and you're here, you must have information."

"Wait, Velvet Room?" Minako asks, dragging Aigis towards Margaret. "How's Elizabeth doing?"

"She is on her own journey, as you well know, previous guests. I trust you are doing well."

"We are fine, Margaret-san," Aigis says, squeezing Minako's hand tighter. "What do you know?"

Margaret sighs and begins to talk.

"It doesn't seem like we have a choice," Yu muses in Minako's bakery. The Team is gathered around their usual table, Minako lounging on Aigis's lap. Lately they've been more and more affectionate, not that anyone minds.

"If we don't save her, she'll disappear with our memories. It's our fault that she's like this now. Who's up for going back there and saving her? I'm abstaining since I'm biased."

The rest of the Team raises their hands. "Come on, sensei!" Teddie cajoles, "we're not letting Emmy-chan go like this!"

"Alright. We'll head over tomorrow and I'll get the fox. We'll only get one shot at this, so let's make it count!"

"So..." Margaret muses at the entrance to the Hollow Forest, "You'll go forward with this?"

"Of course!" Minako raises and pumps her fist, "we'll keep going straight ahead, without looking back. For love and justice! Right, Yu-chan?" At this, Margaret raises a questioning eyebrow towards Yu, who blushes.

"Calm down. We're not letting those close to us just give up and die without seeing the truth. Just watch us, Margaret-san!"

The attendant smiles and steps aside. "I wish you...good fortune, dear guest. For you and all your friends."

As the Team enters, the effect appears. They're all in their uniforms, even Minako is in her old Gekkoukan uniform. A strange katana is in Yu's hands, and it won't seem to come undone.

"This is odd," She muses, searching her pockets, "all our equipment is gone. Something is off in this dungeon, so let's be careful. C'mon, guys."

Aigis stares off into the distance, eyes unfocused. "Hey, Aigis? Darling?"

"Yes?"

"What's up?"

"Something...is off here. Weird. Since Marie created this, and we have the same Arcana, I am getting a strange reading. But, you do look cute in your old uniform."

"You're not saying that because it's a bit small in the chest, right?"

Aigis leans over Minako's shoulder and takes her hand, "It just makes me want to tear it off of you even more."

"Aigis!"

"You just don't get it! Why won't you let me just die in peace?" Marie shrieks atop her podium.

"Because by living you can do so much more," Yu whispers, walking up to Marie, "because by living, you can see the peaceful world we made."

"Shut up! You don't know anything!"

"You think we do not know how you feel?" Aigis interrupts, walking forward.

"I was also controlled by something once and I went out of control. I almost killed the ones I loved, but I was rescued because others helped. So do not give up, fellow Aeon."

"SHUT UP!" Marie shouts and Megidolaon blasts the Team back. "I'm sorry, but I must do this!"

"But maybe...if we defeat whatever comes out of the fog, will you go back to normal?" Yosuke ventures, weary.

"I...I don't know. But I can feel the fog taking over. Going out of control - Yu! Help me!"

"Always, Marie." The fog envelops Marie, and from her arises Kusumi-no-Okami.

"Why won't you let me accept a peaceful ignorance? Isn't that better than a painful truth?"

"No!" The Team says, and ready themselves.

"We all have an obligation to see the truth. Your words ring hollow as this forest, Marie. But I'll make you see. Let me show you the truth that we've accomplished!" Yu lifts her hand up and a dazzling spread of cards appear over her. She waves her hand, and she fuses a Persona.

"Kaguya! Come!" And she emerges.

"You don't know anything!" Kusumi-no-Okami roars, and slams the ground, lightning blasting the arena. The Team is thrown back, but Yu still stands.

"I know enough, Marie. I know you don't want this. But I'll show you! Kaguya! Radiant Arrow!" Yu gestures forward and Kaguya mirrors her, and bolts of light strike Kusumi-no-Okami.

"How are you drawing so much power?!"

"Mostly from you! The bonds that give me strength come from all around me, including you! My love for you gives me strength!" Kaguya moves again, and light covers the podium.

"Marie, wake up! MARIE!"

"You don't have to shout at me, dumbass! I'm up! But we'll need to get out of here before the whole forest collapses!"

"Yu...I want to thank you. I remember who I am now. I'm...like the sagiri you fought earlier. I was made to eat up the fog that the sagiris caused, but I went haywire. I thought just dying would be fine but...thank you. Now I have a place here," Marie smiles, placing a hand on Yu's cheek. She leans forward to press her lips to Yu's, who lets out a strangled moan.

"See you around, Yu." Marie waves and goes back into the Velvet Room, snow swirling down the shopping center.

In the distance, Minako and Aigis watch from the window of their store.

"They're really growing up fast, huh?"

"Yes. Soon, they won't need our help anymore."

"That's a good thing, though. The end of their journey is coming soon."

"Hey, partner! Happy valentines day! You get a lot of gifts?" Yosuke sits on Yu's desk as she sharpens her pencil. She points to the small mound of chocolates and boxes by her desk, all unopened.

"Girls just kept giving them to me and leaving them at my shoebox all day. You want some? I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate."

"Not unless it's Marie's-chan's~" Chie jokes, and this time Yu doesn't even blush.

"You're late." Marie huffs outside the Dojima's residence. She's holding a box as Yu walks up to her.

"Hey, I don't control when I get out of school. It's good to see you too, Marie."

"Hmph. Take it." She thrusts the box into Yu's hands and looks away.

"Thank you?"

"Y-yeah. Just enjoy it!"

The chocolates are...surprisingly good. Aside from Minako, Yu thought that all her friends were awful cooks.

"H-how could you just eat it all?"

"It's good!"

"Ugh! Useless! Why'd I have to fall in love with you?"

Yu freezes at this, given that any love declarations were from her end.

"Close your eyes!" Marie commands and Yu looks blankly.

"Just do it!"

Yu obliges and closes her eyes. She feels Marie's arms wrap around her shoulders and their lips touch.

"Will you...stay with me, Yu?"

"Of course."


	9. Q

"So, there's no exit except for that 'You in Wonderland', there's no good food anywhere, and we can't contact senpai and Aigis-san. Correct?" Naoto asks to the rest of the Team as they sit at one of the various tables in the fake culture show. How they had ended up here was beyond them. Something about the Velvet Room? Who knew, anymore.

"Seems like it," Yosuke rests on Teddie. "Also, that clock tower is creeping me out. What do you think, partner?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, it's never been here as long as I've known," Yukiko stares out the window as the bell chimes. They hear murmuring from the phantom students that those who hear the bell chime will die, but they're not too worried. What was it senpai always says? 'Do battle with gods and entities? Don't fear death?'

Whatever.

The Team wanders around until they get back to 'You in Wonderland', and with no other choice, they head in.

"This just gets weirder and weirder," Yu evokes Izanami who blasts out a bolt of lightning, "First we can summon our Personas while not in the TV world, and there're Shadows. Not to mention that we're all weaker than before. What gives?"

"Who knows?" Teddie summons Kintoki-Douji and Bufu pierces a Shadow, "We'll need to be bear-y careful, right sensei?" The whole Team groans at the lame pun, and they keep trekking through the labyrinth.

"Hey, partner." Youske walks up to Yu, twirling his knives.

"Yeah?"

"Since this place is, you, a labyrinth, you want to draw a map or something?"

"That's...actually a good idea. Senpai, do you want to draw it?" Rise's static-y image flickers in front of them.

"Sure. It'll be annoying, but we'll get it done. Let's keep going - woah!" Two figures appear in front of them, dazed and confused. Some mild confusion later, they introduce themselves as Rei and Zen. A matching set, if you will, Yu thinks. She wracks her mind to see if she can remember them - yet despite all her time spent at Yasogami, she's never seen them, and her colleagues agree with her. Oh, well. Somehow, they can fight Shadows without Personas, and they have bigger issues - getting Rei and Zen's memories back, and escaping this place.

She notes it feels weird not having Minako and Aigis at her side. Whether it's their helpful advice or strong attacks needed to break through, she misses her...well...older sisters dearly.

"Damn...these guys don't stop coming!" Chie yells as her foot smashes another card soldier into the ground. Yu thinks back to Alice and Thanatos's Die for Me, but shakes her head, taking a swipe to the side. She cries out and goes to one knee, leaning heavily on her katana. "IZANAMI!" She shouts, and electricity flows through her blade. She leaps up and lunges, decimating another card. She looks up at the Queen of Hearts, weary, when suddenly, the wall explodes.

Twelve figures stand in a row, silhouetted by the light behind them. The middle figure steps forward, XXII pins twinkling in the light. The Team doesn't say a word as the younger Minako skips, drawing her evoker.

"Don't worry, guys," She says, and Mitsuru calls out, "Everyone! Charge!"

"Nice to meet you!" Not-Minako says from her spot next to Yu, Shinjiro to her right, and two other people behind them - a girl with a bow and a young boy with a long spear. "I'm Minako Arisato, but call me Minako! Alright, gang! Let's do this! Orpheus!" She evokes, and Orpheus blasts a card soldier with Agi.

"Wipe them out!" Yu calls, and they attack.

"Wow, that was fun! Anyway, as I said, I'm Minako, and this is SEES! We hunt Shadows just like you guys, I guess, and we're stuck here with you, I guess. Alright, team, introduce yourselves!" Young-Minako says and Yu leans into Yosuke.

"So, this must be younger Minako-senpai when she was with her old team. I'd say a few years ago. Actually," She raises her voice, "IT, can we talk for a second? I'm sorry, Arisato-san, just a moment."

Minako instantly replies, "Don't call me that, you'll make me feel old! Call me senpai if you're worried," And the Team snickers. The IT huddles around Yu, who begins to talk,

"Okay, listen up. This isn't the senpai and Aigis-san we know and love. Minako-senpai hasn't...died yet. So we don't mention that. We make it seem like we have no idea who they are. Same goes for the rest of SEES. Understood?"

"Hear ya loud and clear, senpai," Kanji says and sticks his hand in the middle of the circle.

"Jeez Moronji, you're slow on the uptake~" Rise chides and sticks her hand on top of Kanji's.

"H-hey! Don't be like that! I was the first person to say so!" He snaps and the rest of the Team puts their hands atop each other's.

"Sorry about the wait, senpai. So, who is the rest of your team?" Yu turns back to senpai and the rest and she continues.

Eventually, they reach Aigis, and the Team has to restrain themselves from what she does. "I am Aigis, and my sole duty is protecting Minako-san," Aigis clings to Minako's arm, and the girl blushes at this a bit. They know what a cute girl does to her sense of tact.

"Are you two...?" Naoto squints at the two, and Minako's blush goes down her neck.

"No!"

"I do not understand."

"H-hey Marie-chan," Yu stumbles, Kaguya pushing her forward. She glares back at the sub-Persona she has equipped, before righting herself.

"Hey, shorty," Marie winks and adjusts her hat, "fancy seeing you here."

"S-same to you." It's only recently that they've started...dating? Yu isn't sure how to put it.

"Hey! Lover girls!" Minako calls and the two bolt upright. "We're going to go explore the rest of the festival! You want in?"

Yu and Marie look at each and smile. Like before, Yu takes Marie's hand and follows her senpai.

It's...interesting seeing how SEES acts together. The camaraderie that the IT has isn't there in SEES. There are secrets abounding between members, and it is very odd to not see Minako and Aigis hand-in-hand. Sure, they're still close, but they haven't gone to the next step. Knowing that they're from the past is still a little odd, that this is the Minako and Aigis before she died. But still, the interactions are nice. Yosuke and Junpei bond almost instantly as fellow Magicians, Rise and Fuuka as analysts, Chie looks up to Akihiko with Ken, Kanji admires Shinjiro in a similar manner, Teddie fawns over all the girls and competes with Koromaru, and Yukiko and Yukari have a friendly acquaintance.

As before, Yu and Minako are magnetically attracted to each other. Minako jokes about the Wild Card to assure Marie that they have no romantic interest in each other, given that Marie has, in Minako's words, "staked her claim on Yu." She blushes and Minako smiles, because that is who she is.

Yu and the Team almost let it slip several times to Minako about their future, the Team's present. Information about her, about the world. However, they all work well together as they work through the labyrinth. Yu has to hand it to Minako - this younger one who leads her own team with her. There's a spark in her that's faded in the present, this drive to help everyone. She comforts Rei when she's down and confronts Zen when he's being overprotective. She is the heart of SEES, the binding member that links all their disassociated personalities together. But she's tough, tougher than now.

Yu realizes that it's because of the same reason why she herself is strong now - they both fight for others. They have separate goals in the real world, but here, with their one drive to get out and help Rei and Zen, makes them stronger. Back in Inaba, she fought her own war and Minako is tired.

But.

But.

She still cares. Here and now, in this maze of life, they live and fight and bleed together because they must. As two ends of the same soul, they fight.

"What's the matter?" Aigis looks up to see Marie sit down next to her. They haven't really interacted; the Velvet Room members mainly stick to themselves. For the past few minutes, Aigis has kept her attention on Minako and Elizabeth walking around the stalls, and for some reason, it's been bothering her.

"I am not sure, Marie-san. For some reason, I am feeling...unwell."

"Is it because of them?" Marie nods at Minako and Elizabeth as the attendant wipes some food off of Minako's face, and Aigis is sure that if she had a heart, it'd start beating faster.

"Haha, you're jealous!" Marie pokes Aigis's side and the robot does not respond.

"I am just concerned."

"Sure. You know, I'd tell her how you feel. But hey, that's you, not me," Marie shrugs and stands up, fishing a lollipop from her bag. She sticks it in her mouth and sucks, walking away.

"See ya, Aigis."

Aigis nods and resumes her watch. She wishes that she was with Minako like that.

It's near the end of their journey here in this alternate reality. In the map drawn by Yu's own hand there is an 'X', where Margaret is waiting for them. Izanami shifts in her mind as Yu is sure Orpheus shifts in Minako's. They march into the depths of 'You in Wonderland', until they reach the final door.

Yu reaches over to Minako and threads their fingers together. Like in the present, senpai still has all her callouses and scars from months of naginata practice, similar to her own katana callouses, but now they're firmer. She looks into Minako's eyes, grey to red and they nod.

"I am in your care, senpai."

"As am I in yours."

"Show me...show me your power!" Margaret calls, and hovers with her power. Minako rolls her head back and forth and readies her naginata, and Yu grips her katana firmly. Yu channels Izanami and she appears next to Minako's Orpheus, and they deliver a dual Zio-Agi attack that strikes deeply. They attack simultaneously, naginata and katana making an 'x' over Margaret.

"Hmm...good...but it'll take more than that to beat me!" Margaret shatters a card between her book's pages and Mazionga and Magarula tear over the two Wild Cards. They go flying, and Margaret glides over looking down at them.

"That can't be all, can it...? Show me your power!" She prepares Vorpal Blade, but Minako kips up, "Orpheus!" On her lips. The musician bursts forth with a Hientou, knocking the Velvet Room assistant back a few feet.

"Come on, Yu! Now isn't the time to give up now!" Minako reaches down to give a Yu a hand up, and she accepts. They stand back to back and close their eyes, Yu raising her hand and Minako raising her evoker to her head. There is the shattering of glass, and the Fools circle each other, waiting for their wielders' commands.

"Orpheus!"

"Izanami!"

"WE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL OPEN THE DOOR!"

"Don't you feel that something's...changed?" Margaret muses after her battle, and Yu and Minako nod at her words. Behind them, Izanami-no-Okami and Messiah form with a ringing of bells.

After it is all said and done, Minako realizes what she's been missing this whole time. Yu is...familiar. A weird sense of deja vu emanates from the younger girl with grey hair, her long braids flapping behind her. When she rests in this alternate dimension she dreams of her, leading her Team through the upside-down world inside the TV, at home in Inaba and beyond.

Ah, now she realizes it. It's the feeling she gets when she meets someone she'll meet again, later in life.

She remembers Igor's words, that she only has one year. Only a few more months now. Messiah chides her, _you will not go until you are done_.

 _Yeah, yeah. I know_.

Well...not yet. Elizabeth waits for them at the top of the Clock Tower.

"One last trip, huh?" Minako giggles. "Lead us, leader."

Yu snorts and waves her hand, her skirt fluttering in the wind. Izanami-no-Okami churns in her mind, more peaceful than the old Izanami. She's no longer blunt, but more...mature. _What is on your mind, Yu?_

 _I'm just worried, as always,_ Yu thinks back, both teams following behind her. _Minako-senpai and I can both feel the power in those orbs we've been collecting. Elizabeth is gonna do something...big_.

Elizabeth crushes a card and a bolt of lightning pierces the heavens, striking the attendant directly.

" **Come...I am Zeus! Show me the strength of your bonds, sheep!** " Elizabeth - Zeus - challenges, lightning smashing the field. Yu raises her hand and the Maziodyne arcs around her, lighting her braids from the aftershocks. "Let's go!" Yu shouts and crushes her card, Izanami-no-Okami shimmering into existence behind her.

"These bonds of ours...they aren't something to laugh at!" Minako shouts back, Messiah using Debilitate. She ducks under a Rampage and evokes, Megidolaon slamming into the possessed avatar. The whole gang bombards Elizabeth/Zeus mercilessly, but she shrugs almost all of it off. Eventually she ducks back and uses Diarahan, the whole team groaning. Elizabeth evokes Zeus again, switching from Warrior Zeus to Zeus. It's... a little confusing, Yu has to agree.

But before she can do more, Elizabeth casts a quick Mind Charge to Keraunos, and she and Minako are the only ones left standing, breathing deeply.

 **"Is this the extent of your power? Art thou not but sheep, baaing in a meager herd?"** Elizabeth bellows and Minako shakes her head.

"That's not right at all! We've struggled and fought and bled to this point, and we're not going to stop now! Eat this!" She dashes forward and Yu can hardly believe her eyes when Minako punches Elizabeth in the face. Elizabeth stumbles back from the hit and with a blast of Megidolaon, knocks Minako back.

"Senpai!" Yu runs over to Minako, skidding down to her knees.

"Hey, come on now. Just a bit more, and we can all get some healing. I'm counting on you...!" And Minako passes out. Yu nods and stands up, striding towards Elizabeth."

 **"Oh? Art thou a wolf in the wildness, alone in your struggles?"**

"No! My friends...my friends are my power! Izanami-no-Okami...let's do this!" Yu charges forward, katana at the ready. She can feel her Persona powering her up, the world slowing down for her. She lunges with her katana, meeting Elizabeth's strike with her own blade. The two clash quickly and repeatedly, Yu keeping Elizabeth on the defensive. Zeus howls and Keraunos erupts around Yu, who casts Heat Riser and dodges and weaves between the thunderbolts. Electricity flows through Yu's blade, and she delivers one final strike.

Yu and Minako stay last after everyone has already gone through the doors back to their worlds, 2009 for SEES and 2011 for the IT.

"Well," Yu starts, and falters. How do you say goodbye?

"Well. Time to go back. It's been fun, Yu-chan. I hope...no, I know we'll see each other again. And even if we forget everything here, we'll know that this happened. That we made a connection. That for once, both bookends of the same soul met and made great things happen."

"And that together, we are more powerful than when we are separate. And you're right, you know. We will see each other again. I know because back home, you're on the Investigation Team. You and Aigis-san. So if you go back and forget everything I want you to remember to tell her how you feel. See you later, Minako."

"See ya, kiddo. Ha, kiddo. Enjoy life, Yu Narukami, and everything that it entails." Minako waves and walks through her door, as Yu does with hers.

It's the fall of 2009 when Minako wakes up. She listens to Elizabeth ramble on for a bit and walks home slowly, taking in her shaky memories. She picks up the pace as she remembers that Shinjiro's cooking for the dorm again. After last time had been a rousing success, they all made sure to be there again, especially since the food was so good. She breathes in the clean air of early fall, the typhoon having cleared all the smog that hovered over Tatsumi Port Island.

"Hey, dude! You're late!" Junpei's voice reaches her first when she gets back...home. Yeah, home.

"Welcome back, Minako-san." Aigis intones, carrying over some plates from the kitchen to the table, Yukari a step behind.

"Hey, Minako-chan!" Yukari says in response, "Good to see you!"

"Smells a bit good for cooking. Did you let Fuuka-chan into the kitchen this time?" Minako jokes, bending down to pet a barking Koromaru. She squeezes his cheeks as he breaks off to run around the living room.

"Uh, well, only briefly!" Fuuka calls from the kitchen as Shinjiro leaves the kitchen, taking off his apron. "Is everyone here?" He asks, taking his beanie off to smooth his hair.

"All the seats are full," Akihiko jibes as the whole gang sits down.

"I didn't ask you, idiot," Shinjiro places the last plate on the table and sits down opposite his friend and they keep arguing. Ken and Mitsuru sit stunned, but Mitsuru eventually closes her eyes and smiles.

"You gonna sit down eventually?" Ken asks to Minako, who has been staring at her friends for a few moments.

"Yeah, yeah. Geez, you're awfully nosy today, huh?" She pulls out her chair and sits at the head of the table, Aigis moving to the seat next to her.

"W-well..."

"Leave Mina alone, man. Persistence isn't that cool."

"Yeah, _Ace Defective_ , like you'd know what women like."

"Yuka-taaaaaan! Uncool!"

Eventually, conversation dies down when Minako taps a fork against her glass, standing up.

"I...I'd like to say thanks. For, well, everything. Not just the food. Thanks for that, by the way." Minako stops talking briefly as a round of applause spreads through SEES, and Minako can see Shinjiro's face blush from the praise.

"I'd also like to thank you for...well...something. I can't remember what. But thank you for supporting me in our quest to end the Dark Hour. Thank you for lending me your strength. Together...!"

"We can do anything, right? Leader?" Junpei stands up, glass in hand and looks her dead in the eyes. One by one, the rest of the team stands up, glasses in hand. Koromaru barks and jumps onto Ken's chair, pouting at Minako. She sighs and nods, and the Shiba barks again.

"Cheers, everyone. To us. To the future!"

"Cheers!" They all respond, and they dig in.

In the back of Minako's mind, she remembers flashes - friendly students from a familiar high school, long grey hair and piercing eyes. Orpheus plucks a melody as she digs in.

And she smiles, because that's what she does - here, surrounded by people she loves, and who in turn, love her.

Yu wakes up, back in Inaba. She remembers - well. Damn. Something's blurry and fuzzy in her memory. All she can remember is a pair of piercing red eyes and a smile a mile wide. She bolts out of bed, thankful it's a Sunday and throws on some clothes. She says a quick greeting to Nanako and Dojima and straddles her bike, cruising to the shopping center. She pulls up to Wiping All Out to see Minako and Aigis taking a quick snooze while there're no customers. Yu smiles and grabs the nearby emergency nap blanket (so dubbed by Rise) to thrown on top of them. She and Aigis make eye contact and the robot smiles.

"Hey, Aigis-san. Do you remember...well. Do you remember us meeting before?"

Aigis tilts her head, running through her memory banks. There's a hint of a memory deep in her core, of a strange school back when she and Minako were in SEES, of a familiar pair of grey eyes. She delves deeper, and the memory deletes itself, leaving her perplexed.

"I am sorry, Yu-san. I thought we met back after we shortly opened. I apologize. But there is something in my data banks that suggests we met some time ago. A mysterious pair of students and a clock tower? I would not worry too much about it. Nothing happens to Wild Cards for no reason. Actually, would you like to assist me in putting the next batch of muffins in the oven? I am...preoccupied." She looks down to the sleeping figure laying on top of her, a thin line of drool going out of her mouth as the robot adjusts the blanket more securely over her.

"Of course, Aigis-san." And Yu smiles, because that is what Minako would do.

Eventually, the rest of the gang shows up with their textbooks and everyone gets to studying, and Nanako shows up too. Together...together, they all can do anything. Here, surrounded by people she loves and those who love her.

"Hey, big sis! Your friends are pretty cool, huh?" Nanako pulls on Yu's jacket, and she nods.

"Yeah...you're right."


	10. Time to say Goodbye

Yu looks around her room, now sparse and barebones. Today is the last day she's going to spend in Inaba for a while. Her train leaves tomorrow and she's hesitant to say goodbye to everyone, but parting is a fact of life. She flips out her phone to see no new messages and shrugs. She might as well see everyone again before she leaves.

After all the murders and arrests, the town somehow seems more...alive. Vibrant. Peaceful. Greenery spreads over the floodplains, and Yu walks along the road. She says hello to all the cats meandering around and all her Social Links before she ends up at the Velvet Room. She pretends to knock before entering, and the car is sparse. She's reached the end of her journey, after all.

She leaves the Velvet Room in a hurry, blushing red. Margaret's sinfulness her _ass_ , that was just going too far. She's surprised Marie didn't bust out the lightning and fry the attendant, but still. That was...something.

Somehow, as usual, she finds herself at Minako's bakery one last time. Eventually, the rest of the Team drifts in and sits around her at their usual table as customers drift in and out, enjoying the fine spring day. Still, something nags at her. How did she, Adachi and Namatame get the power to enter the TV? Why is Marie connected to the Shadows and the sagiris? This has more false endings than...well, something with a lot of false endings. Her mind's occupied, racing with thoughts.

"Hey, kiddo," Minako moves next to Yu and lays a comforting hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing it through her jacket. "You doing alright?"

Yu shakes her head. Minako smiles and waves for Aigis to come over. "Hey, Aigis. Can you stay with Yu-chan for a bit? I'm gonna close down for a bit." Minako walks off and herds the few remaining customers out the door, offering discounts and free items for when they open again later.

"Who are you...who are you really?" Yu stumbles to her knees, looking up at the figure in white.

"You did all that I asked, even saving the stunted dwarf of a life. Alright, I will honor you with my name. I am...Izanami." The goddess hovers over the ground, power radiating from her.

"Wait, but what about my Izanami?"

"I gave three facets of myself - emptiness, despair, and hope, and to each I gave an Izanami. I made the sagiris to govern the fog, and...Marie...to consume it once the fog was done. You have done well to come so far, chosen one. I awakened your power on that day, but I did not expect it to progress this far. Will you continue to risk everything for your truth?"

"Of course we will!"

"Then find me..."

Izanami disappears and Yu collapses to the ground in the rain, her friends running up to her.

In the depths of Yomotsu Hirasaka, Yu walks up to Minako, who leans on her naginata. "Say, senpai."

"What's up, Yu-chan?"

"That naginata of yours...it looks familiar."

"You've got a good eye! Yeah, it's the Ame-no-Nuboko, the naginata Izanagi and Izanami used to raise the land from the sea. Fitting, huh?"

Yu reaches out to touch it, but her Izanami recoils in her mind and she relents.

"Fitting, I guess."

 _Did you know about this?_ Yu asks, the heels of her shoes echoing loudly against the walkway.

 _About what?_

 _Who...what we're fighting. This part of you._

 _No...no I did not._

Thousand Curses. Of course. Yu notes that it's aimed at her, and she can see Chie running to knock her out of the way. _Really now_ , Izanami muses and Yu uses the hilt of her katana to knock her out of the way, and she feels herself being dragged down to Yomi. She's said constantly that she doesn't like it when her friends take hits for her, and this time is no exception.

As everything blacks out, she hears the Team shouting.

"Hey..." Marie walks up to Yu and leans over her, "Can't you hear them? I know you have something to hear them."

Yu nods weakly and digs around in her coat pocket, drawing out Minako's headphones. She puts them on, and she can hear the World that she's made. Her Social Links call out to her, encouragement overflowing, and finally, she hears Marie talk.

"This is what you've made. Now, use the power within you to defeat the evil hanging over the town. Please, Yu...!"

She stands up, and Izanami transmorgifies.

"Sorry to make you worry, guys." Yu emerges, and the Thousand Curses fail to land. She walks forward, confident.

"See, what you didn't get, Izanami, is that while you thought the world was shaken most by Adachi's actions, you failed to listen to what people wanted. Deep down, people want the truth, people don't want ignorance or bliss. To accept the world how it is and improve it, that! That is the truth!"

Yu lifts a hand to her face and throws her glasses off into the distance. She doesn't need them, because now she can _see_. She raises her hand and a card lowers into it.

"Persona...!" She crushes it, and from it emerges Izanami-no-Okami.

"A thousand die as one thousand-five hundred are born...my friends give me strength!"

Yu steps off the train to see her parents ahead of her, both on their phones working. Mr. and Mrs. Narukami and both very busy businesspeople, and Yu isn't surprised.

"Hello mother, father. It's good to see you are well."

"Hmm. Likewise, Yu." Her father mutters, walking to their car, expecting his wife and daughter to follow. "How was your year in Inaba?"

"Good. Quiet. Did the usual, studied, summoned gods to do battle with the repressed emotions of my peers, dated this one girl - "

"What's her name?" Her mother interrupts.

"Marie."

"How nice." Her father muses, turning onto the highway.

"You look stronger," her mother comments, not looking up from her phone, "did you work out?"

"I picked up basketball again." Swinging a katana around a lot also did wonders for her muscle definition.

"I was wondering if I could go back during Golden Week." Yu leans back in her seat, fidgeting with one of her braids.

"I don't see why not." Her mother nods, "How were your grades?"

"Perfect." 'As always,' Yu mutters under her breath. She knows that Minako and Aigis were better parents and family to her than her actual parents, and as long as she had good grades, her parents didn't care. As always.

The rest of the drive is in silence.

Yu flips open her phone to her background picture, of her and her friends - no. Her family. She looks out the window and smiles, because that's what she promised.

That's what Minako would do.


	11. Epilogue: Familiar Faces

The months fly by once again. Yu's spent the past few months at a new school back in Kyoto, and it's certainly a lot quieter than when school started back in Inaba. No murders, for starters. But now, during summer break, she's back on a train headed for Yasoinaba, back to see the Team and her friends. It's been a while since she left after Izanami's defeat. The goddess's defeat, not her Persona's - having identical entities sure gets confusing. The Velvet Room is closed to her, but she still has the Wild Card. Izanami and Kaguya float in the recesses of her subconscious, there for a word of warning or advice.

"Yasoinaba. We have arrived in Yasoinaba. Please leave the train." The announcer calls, and Yu shakes herself from her reverie. She takes off her headphones - technically Minako's, but she wanted Yu to have them. She stretches and lets out a small sound, reaching up to grab her bag and swing it over her shoulder. When she arrived in Kyoto she got a haircut, her long braids gone. Her grey locks are short now, reaching her chin. She scratches the back of her head and follows the few other passengers off and onto the station.

Inaba is...even better than before. Again. Life echoes through the small town, reverberating across the vibrant storefronts. Yu watches Namatame campaign for mayor, beseeching those around him to spread the truth. She smiles, certain that he doesn't recognize her, and keeps walking.

"Hey, Dojima-san." She calls on her cell, walking through the shopping center.

"Oh, hey! Sorry, but I'm out and Nanako is too, so, the door's locked. Sorry. I'll get back to you when we're home, alright? Bye." Her uncle hangs up and Yu is suspicious almost immediately. She checks her watch, Nanako should be back from school by now, but she shrugs and keeps walking. She first goes to the shrine, golden and shining in the light and sees the fox and her kits, chasing each other. She prays and offers money, getting a fortune for "moderate luck". Yu bends down and the fox dashes over to her, eager to be pet.

Yu sets her bag on the ground and sits, the fox curling up next to her under her hand. She strokes mindlessly, and the kits run over to her, yipping.

"So this is your family, huh?" Yu tilts her head and looks at the fox, who yawns and settles.

"Heh. Cute kids." She gives one last pet and stands up, grabbing her bag. She waves to the foxes as she walks back down the path towards the shopping district.

This time, the Velvet Room is there and open, and the only resident is Igor. Yu looks around briefly before stepping inside.

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room. Congratulations on your success in solving the mystery of this town."

"Thank you. Where are Margaret-san and Marie?"

"My attendants are elsewhere, as of now. I believe you will run into one sooner rather than later. But, that is not the purpose of this visit. I have...one last gift, my dear guest."

"A gift?" Yu shifts in her seat, idly kicking her bag.

"Yes. One last Persona before you depart, and the last time we shall meet. More than one Fool's Journey would be too much, no?"

"Hmm. Seems about right. So who is this Persona?"

"How much do you know of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice?"

Yu leans to the side and thinks, "Well, Orpheus was a great instrumentalist. One day, his wife, Eurydice, died. He went down to the underworld to try and find her, but as they were leaving, he looked back and she was stuck down in Hades forever. It's reminiscent of the myth of Izanagi and Izanami. Same, almost exactly. Why?"

Igor spreads a deck of cards over the table and begins flipping them over - Mada, Scathach, Odin, Ishtar, Futsunushi, Norn, Helel, Sraosha, and Magatsu-Izanami. "This will be one of my greatest fusions. You will note that your elder, Arisato, uses Orpheus. Make no mistake, for nothing in this Room happens for no reason."

The cards fuse together, and it now depicts a silhouetted figure, draped in a multi-colored cloak, only showing her arms and hands. Yu can sense the power within.

"This is Eurydice, of the World Arcana, fused from your Social Link with the Completed Couple - Minako Arisato and Aigis. May you be blessed in your travels."

The card drifts down into Yu's hand and she absorbs it into her heart, Eurydice fitting in with Izanami and Kaguya. As opposed to Izanami's rough tongue and Kaguya's archaic and flowery speech, Eurydice is calm and succinct. Complete. There's a lilt at the end of her sentences, similar to how senpai would end her sentences, and intonations that are eerily similar to Aigis's.

 _I am thou...and thou art I. I am Eurydice, Lost to the Underworld, I will guide thee on thine travels in peace._

Yu gets up to shake Igor's hand, and his smile grows.

"You have been a most exceptional guest, my dear. I wish you...good fortune."

"Thank you, Igor-san. For everything."

As usual, Yu ends up at the bakery. Manning the counter is a high-schooler she's never seen before. As Yu looks around she notices that the implements seems newer, shinier. The pastries look even more delicious as she walks up to the counter.

"Welcome to Wiping All Out. What can I get for you?" The boy running the register asks, chipper.

"I'll just have whatever's fresh, thank you."

"Let's see, the bosses made some brownies this morning. You want one?"

"Sounds good. Say, where are your bosses?"

"I don't know." The amount rings up on the screen and Yu drops the change into the boy's hands, and tells him to keep the rest. She takes her brownie and sits at her table, amidst the hustle and bustle. But she hears something.

"Hey, stop it, Teddie! She's gonna see us and ruin the surprise!"

"You're just jealous that she'll see my princely majesty first, Yosuke!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Yosuke's brown hair and Teddie's blonde sticking up over a display shelf, painfully loud and obvious.

"You know I can see you, right, partner?" She doesn't look away as she digs into her brownie, and Yosuke yelps.

"See, Teddie! This is all your fault!" The two keep arguing as they make their way towards their table, and that seems to be the cue for the rest of the Team sans Minako and Aigis to join her at the table.

"Nice job, morons!" Chie scolds, Yukiko's hand in hers. "You gave it away!"

"Hey Yu-chan!" Yukiko nods, "Were you surprised?"

"A little bit, yeah. You all look so different. Anyway, where're Minako-senpai and Aigis-san?" At this, the door to the back bangs open, and Minako and Aigis are there, posing dramatically.

"SURPRISE!" Minako shouts, and all the customers almost fall out of their seats. She's also doing a JoJo pose? Yu's not sure.

"Surprise," Aigis smiles and pulls a party popper, confetti flying to the floor. They sit down at the table and conversation flows naturally.

Yu's phone pings, signaling Dojima calling.

"Hey, uncle."

"Did the surprise happen?"

"Yep. You're in on it?"

"Haha, you got me. I'm the toughest interrogator around, yet I can't keep a secret too well. Why don't you and all your friends come on over? Nanako would love to see you."

"Sure. I'm in."

"Got it. See you soon." Dojima hangs up as Yu looks up to see Rise poking angrily at Kanji's chest for some reason or another, and she can't help but smile.

Somehow, they get the whole Team crowded around the Dojimas' table, thighs and legs scrunched together. Everything's changed so much, visually and emotionally. They seem resolute compared to earlier, determined. Well, the younger members do. Minako and Aigis remain almost the same, still two pieces of one whole. Yu's heart aches as she remembers Marie. She hadn't had a lot of contact, given that Marie stayed in Inaba to be Izanami-no-Mikoto. Hard to date a land goddess in a different part of Japan.

But she makes do.

"How are your injuries, uncle? Are you and Nanako doing better?"

"We're doing right as rain. We're both doing great. I've...found a lead on Chisato's killer. Asides from that, I've been visiting Adachi lately. A model prisoner. Hard to get him when all of his crimes and evidence are in that other world, but we make do." Dojima rambles on, but is interrupted when the door opens.

"Hey, daddy! Oh! You're all here? And big sis, too?!" Nanako rushes over and crushes Yu in a tight hug, her arm going around Nanako instantly.

"Hey, Nana-chan. You've been a good girl while I've been gone?"

"Yep! Taking care of daddy as usual. And I've been playing piano now! Maybe I can be a part of your band later?"

"Haha, we'll see."

"Yay! Oh! The weather report's on!" Nanako runs over and turns the volume up on the TV, and everyone stops talking to watch.

"Now, for the weather with Mariko Kusumi. Mariko, what's the forecast?" The newscaster asks and it shifts to an image of a familiar girl.

"Hello! Mariko here." She says, and a map appears behind her. "We've been having a lot of rain recently, but I think I'm going to make it sunnier. With all the rainfall we've had earlier there shouldn't be any water shortages. And besides, an important guest is visiting, and I can't have it rain while she's here! So...I think I'm going to make it sunny for a while longer." She throws up some pictures of miniature suns with smiling faces on the map of Inaba.

"Mariko? Please calm yourself!" The newscaster tries to interrupt, but she just keeps going.

"Hmm, but if it's too hot then some rain should be fine. But it's up to her, if she wants something else she should just tell me."

Yep. Like that could be anyone else but Marie.

"She's been very popular lately," Naoto comments, rolling her shoulders. "Don't know why."

"Well, maybe because she controls the weather!" Nanako nods, "Whenever she says it's going to be sunny, it is! Just like that!"

"You...might have a point there..." Minako mutters.

"Al...right!" The newscaster finally gets a word in, "It's time to say goodbye!"

"Fine, fine. But before that I have a...personal message." Marie looks straight into the camera and smiles.

"I'm doing just fine! Yu, if you're watching, I love you!"

Yu turns tomato-red as confusion courses over the table.

"Did...did she just confess on live TV?" Chie stammers.

"Ah, kids these days," Dojima nudges Minako's arm, who nudges back with a smile.

"And talk about a name coincidence! If only that were you, huh?" Dojima teases at Yu, face turning even redder.

"I hope you all have a gooooooood day tomorrow! And remember, the more you put in, the more you get out!" Marie finishes and Nanako echoes the last few words along with her.

"All the children have been saying that when they visit us," Aigis rests an elbow on the table, "Motivating, I guess."

"Yep!" Minako responds and squeezes Aigis's fingers tighter. "The whole town's become reenergized." The table rambles on about how the fog has lifted and the like before Nanako whispers to Yu's friends about something.

"Welcome back!"

"Good to see you, senpai!"

"Argh, Kanji! You messed it up again! How many times did we practice?"

"I panicked!"

"Seems like Moronji is still Moronji..."

"Guh - not you too, Naoto?"

And as her friends continue to argue again, Yu can't help but smile and laugh.

"Hey, shorty."

"Hey, Marie. Or is it Mariko now?"

"Just Marie for you. It's good to see you again."

"Yeah."

Yu can feel Kaguya pushing her towards Marie, who sits at the gazebo overlooking Inaba. She sits next to the forecaster and leans until her head is on her shoulder.

"How've you been?"

"Oh, the usual. Not much for a deity to do besides control the weather around here." Kaguya seems to let out a pleased sound at this, and Izanami rumbles with laughter.

"Have you...had other lovers in the past?"

"Of course. Male, female, other, many have felt the embrace of a goddess. You jealous?"

Yu laughs, "of course not. Just curious."

"Hmph."

"Did...did you mean what you said on air?"

"About what? Controlling the weather? Because if you want to, I'll do whatever - "

"No, not that. Though it's nice to know. About, well, us."

"Oh! That. Yeah. I do love you, you know. With all my heart, Yu Narukami, and I'll spend an eternity if it takes that long to convince you...dumbass." Marie smiles that smile Yu loves so much and she lifts herself up to push their lips together.

Night falls and the crickets emerge, chirping their songs to the open night sky and stars.

In a small apartment, we focus on Minako and Aigis, curled together.

"Hey, Aigis."

"Yes?"

"Have I ever told you I'm happy I came back to you?"

"All the time. I am happy you are back. You make me feel like I matter."

"I don't know what happened so I could deserve you, Aigis."

"I love you. Ever since I saw you all those years ago, ever since we reunited at Yakushima, ever since you engraved yourself on my heart, ever since I woke up that one day and you were there, I have always loved you. I - " Aigis swallows and holds up Minako's chin so their eyes lock. "I will never leave you. Just as I promised."

"Oh, Aigis," Minako's eyes fill with tears and she presses herself into Aigis's chest.

"I love you too."

The two drift asleep, Aigis running a gentle hand along Minako's spine.

"You know I'm going back tomorrow."

"Yes."

"I...I want to make this work. Us. Whatever we are. Wherever we end up. Because I don't know when I'll be able to come back - "

A kiss.

"We'll make it work. After all that we've been through, we deserve a happy ending. And I think...as a goddess...we can make it work."

Kaguya giggles in Yu's head, pleased.

"Marie - "

"Yes?"

"I will always remember you. No matter what."

The two are curled tightly together beneath the futon's sheets as Izanami-no-Mikoto lays her blessings on her beloved.

Yu looks at the picture in her hands. It's a replacement for the one on her phone, but there everyone stands, resolute, new. And, well, Marie's in it this time, which is a plus. She pulls on her headphones and listens to the World around her, as the train rumbles away from the station.

And she smiles, because that's what she does now.

If one could look closely, they'd see a figure in white on the high hill, looking over the train threading away from Inaba, and how that figure would lift a hand, and disappear in a wave of fog as the sun breaks over the town.


	12. Arena

"Some kind of tournament, huh?" Minako asks an empty classroom, swinging her naginata absently, and she can only hear Messiah's voice echo within her head.

 _Be prepared_ , he murmurs and she barks a laugh. Like she isn't always prepared. She knows that this student council president isn't real, she would have heard about it from the rest of the Team when they visited. Though they visited her and Aigis less often now that Yu has gone to Kyoto and the case is seemingly over, they don't visit as often. But who knows? She woke up in the TV, had a near-panic attack from the recollection of what Adachi did, and started exploring.

She's not too familiar with the layout of the high school, but she wandered into this classroom and the door shut and now she can't get out. Minako thinks back to her days at Gekkoukan, and how she had to finish her degree online since she technically never finished high school. At some point she was considering going to university after high school, but her plans kind of ended when she died. And when she came back...

Her reverie is interrupted when Shinjiro walks in, a glare on his face.

"Man, you're here? Shit. Just couldn't stay dead, could you?" He murmurs, hefting his axe onto his shoulder.

"Shinji? What's with you? Why are you acting like this?"

"Maybe it's because deep down, I always wished you had let me die back there. Man, can't a guy just die in peace?"

"Wait...something's wrong. The Midnight Channel is clouding your mind. Fight it, Shinjiro!"

"Man, won't you just shut up?!" He growls and charges forward. But first, there is an announcement.

"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and other! In one corner! Her smile is kind, but her eyes are below freezing! The Cheerful Deceased Messiah of Death! Minako...Arisato!" The audience applauds as he continues.

"And in the other! Back from the dead! The Deathly and Revived Chef of Pain! Shinjiro...Aragaki! FIGHT!"

"Come, Osiris!" Osiris appears in his black-cowled glory, large blade in hand as Shinjiro swipes in a wide motion, Minako skipping back a step and settling into her ready stance.

"Alright, then. Guess we're doing it this way. I'll make you see! Come, Messiah!" Agidyne bursts out as Shinjiro hurdles through, Osiris sweeping from behind Minako to catch her off-guard. She is sent flying as Shinjiro launches into a fierce combo, axe swinging heavily.

"Damn...you're stronger than I thought..." Minako pants and stands up. "Come on!" She goes to thrust, using the pole-arm's length to keep him at bay. She spins back and swings reaping slashes, going on the offensive. She slides at his legs and Messiah blasts upwards, sending him flying. She continues striking, kicking Shinjiro into the far wall. She leaps and lands on Shinjiro, blade at his neck.

"I win, Shinji."

The lights seem to clear from his eyes as he becomes confused, "Minako? What happened? You were all aggressive and rude and then, well..."

"Huh? You attacked me first! Something's not right here." She gets off of him and helps him up.

"You're telling me. Mitsuru came along with me and Aki to investigate the rumors surrounding a new anti-Shadow weapon or something."

"So like...Aigis's sister?"

"I ain't got a clue. I'll chill here for a bit, rest up. You go on ahead." He moves over to a desk and sits on it, Osiris materializing before him. They face each other and Shinjiro closes his eyes, meditating, and Minako takes it as her cue to leave.

Aigis runs through the school, desperate. All she knows is that Minako is in here and she needs her help, and any time spent apart is not spent together and they promised each other to stay together. She has no interest in fighting her friends, so she doesn't bother going into any of the classrooms. General Teddie - an obvious fake - yells at her to fight, but she takes a glance at a screen and fires, monitor shattering.

"Hey! Those are bear-y expensive! And for breaking the rules, you're going to have to pay!"

"I have no interest in this. I have my objective, and you will move aside." She keeps running, arms spread wide.

"That's it!" General Teddie's voice deepens and sickens, and a cage falls around Aigis. It's wide enough to fight someone in, she notes, and a Shadow materializes. The coalesce into a familiar form - Shadow Minako.

"You cannot exist. You have already been accepted." Aigis levels a hand at the Shadow and she just laughs, golden eyes shining.

"Haha! I may not be the original, but I'll still break you, bucket of bolts!" She charges and Aigis jumps back, firing. Her bullets seem to do more damage than last time, and Athena sweeps out to knock her back. Shadow Minako springs back and yells, a shadowy version of Messiah sending out a plume of fire. Aigis blocks and leaps, missiles unloading from her arms. She lands and rolls, straight into Minako's attack. She evokes Athena and she blocks, retaliating instantly.

"That's it! Orgia Mode, activated!" She burns, and strikes in a flurry of bullets. Eventually, the Shadow dissolves, and the cage rises. Off in the distance, she can hear General Teddie's mad rumblings, but she deactivates Orgia Mode and starts running again. She still has her purpose.

Somehow, Minako and Aigis bump into each other outside the announcement room.

"Minako!"

"Aigis!" Minako jumps into Aigis's arms, tears falling. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"I was worried too. I'm sorry that I left you."

The two share a quiet moment before the rest of the Team and the Shadow Operatives arrive.

"I think...I think I'm gonna stay with my sister for a bit. Later, I'll join ya in finding the jerk responsible for this, but until then..." Labrys trails off, and Minako can see Ariadne place a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

Mitsuru nods, "I understand completely. Minako has my number for whenever you want to help us, but know that you're always welcome with us."

"Thanks, Kirijo-san. Hah, never woulda figured I'd be on good terms with a Kirijo."

"I am very sorry for what happened to you, but I promise you thus - it will never happen again." Mitsuru smiles and walks off, Akihiko and Shinjiro following behind.

"So...sister," Aigis starts and falters, and Minako reaches down to link their hands, "How'd you like to stay with us for now? Until you go off. I think we have a lot to talk about."

Labrys smiles, and Minako notes the similarity to how Aigis herself smiles.

"Man! Sounds like an experience. And that all happened here in town?" Labrys sits comfortably on a chair in Minako's bakery, opposite Minako and Aigis.

"Yes. Yu-chan, who you met back during the tournament, was our leader, so to speak. It's only been two months after Izanami's defeat."

"Wait, Yu-chan's Persona was defeated?"

"I told you it's confusing!" Minako butts in, taking a sip of her tea. "No, the Big Bad Izanami. Izanami-no-something or other. Who was also Marie, who's taking some time off. Yeah, it's definitely confusing."

"But now that ya mention it..." Labrys trails off, looking out the window to the shopping district. "This is a really nice town. But I wanna take Mitsuru's offer and help find the jerk who did this ta me in the first place."

"We understand," Aigis place a hand over Labrys's and she looks askance. "I know how important having a mission is."

"Haha, thanks, sis. But still, I never imagined I'd find a sis and...sis-in-law?"

"Well...maybe not married. We kinda are? Oh, you get the point!" Minako blushes and grips Aigis's hand tighter.

The three laugh, comfortable in their safety.


	13. Ultimax

"It's certainly been a while since we were all together like this!" Minako shouts over the din and chaos and Messiah bursts forth with fire, incinerating another wave of Shadows. She and the rest of the Shadow Operatives are holding down the fort while Labrys and Yu head upstairs to deal with Minazuki and whatever the big bad guy is. It certainly has been a while since the whole team is in combat together, and Minako is still having a hard time getting over it all.

She remembers from the last tournament Shinji, Aki and Mitsuru, but the rest are nice to see. She's happy that Junpei's almost asked Chidori to marry him, and that Yukari has a good job and looks cute in the uniform, and that Ken and Koromaru are still together.

"C'mon, leader! You're gonna be left behind if you just watch!" Junpei yells and he breaks another bat over a Shadow, Trismegistus slashing through.

Shinjiro just looks pissed as a Shadow runs up to him, but he doesn't move his hands from his pockets as he delivers a vicious head butt, instantly disintegrating the Shadow. Minako swears that if Kanji were there he'd have a heart attack.

"How many are you at, Shinji?" Aki yells and Caesar spears another Shadow as Shinjiro finally takes his hands out of his pockets and picks up his axe, swinging wildly. "Maybe if you focused, Aki, we would be done by now!"

"Will you two be quiet?" Yukari shouts and the team goes silent for a moment before laughing. It's so painfully familiar, all these years later.

"Be careful!" Fuuka's voice carries over the wind, and they get ready, another wave inbound.

"I sense more Shadows incoming!" Aigis shouts and reloads, spent shells clattering to the ground.

"C'mon, team!" Minako rallies, and they all perk up. "If any of you die on me, I'll never forgive you!"

"Forgive me, Arisato, but that's probably not in the best taste," Mitsuru muses, slinging the ichor off her rapier.

"Ughhh, senpai, it's a joke!"

"Save the chatter!" Ken says and Koromaru growls, hackles raising. "Here they come!"

 _Do you know the story of Hi-no-Kagusutchi?_ Izanami mutters in Yu's ear as she and Labrys run up the tower.

 _Well, a bit. I know that he's technically your son,_ Yu thinks back to Izanami, and holds up a hand for Labrys to stop. The robot turns, confused, but understands when Yu inarticulately points at her head.

 _He killed me. He burned me to death. He is why I was betrayed by my husband. Do not let it happen again._

 _Thanks for the pep talk, Izanami._

The goddess chuckles in response and fades briefly, settling over Yu's body and providing her with energy. She brushes off her skirt and gestures to Labrys to keep running, and up they go.

Labrys is very good at multitasking, she finds, as she and Yu keep running up the tower. She has to hand it to her sister's "leader", or whatever, because she's got guts. Ariadne floats in the recesses of her mind, more accurately from her Plume of Dusk.

 _Shall we see who is the mastermind at the end of this mystery?_ Ariadne muses and Labrys chuckles to herself. Her Persona, as she's discovered, only asks questions. Which, you know, can be a little annoying, but according to Aigis each Persona is different. Not that she can change, but she likes Ariadne. They fit together.

 _Yeah. Let's go, Ariadne! Lend me your power!_ Mid-stride, Labrys attaches her axe to her back and leaps, rockets firing.

"Hey! Wait up!" Yu calls, and she reluctantly stalls.

"Don't you see?" Labrys bends down to Sho, who is on the floor. Off in the distance is Adachi, who Yu moves towards, as Labrys continues.

"You're not alone, Sho-kun. You've got Minazuki with ya, all along. What I've realized, and all the Persona-users here know, is that strength comes from each other. And ya know that, deep down, don't ya?"

"Ah...shut up! Useless machine!" Sho grumbles and turns over, looking away.

"Hey, Adachi-san. You okay?" Yu approaches Adachi, bloody and beaten. She squats and leans on her katana, looking him in the eyes.

"H...hey, twerp. Good to *cough* see you again. Hope you got my hints I dropped."

"Of course. We're not stupid."

"Ahhh...but you're still kids, so. Still stupid in my book."

They are interrupted when Hi-no-Kagutsuchi makes his play.

" **I'll kill you! Just like I did to your Persona! To my mother! All will become ash!** " The being bellows, a fiery image descending from the sky.

"Not today." Yu murmurs, and all is quiet. Adachi gets up and hobbles over, Magatsu-Izanami forming behind him.

"People can't live on their own. People need each other. Right, Adachi-san?"

"Eh, I couldn't give a crap. I just want this to be over. Hey, robot girl! Cover us! We need some time!" Adachi yells and the two begin yelling.

"Alright! Ariadne, don't fail me now!" And she charges.

It's a lot different from her other fights, Labrys muses. Less about reading the opponent and striking and more not dying. Is this what it's like to fight a god? Ariadne hisses in response, for once not a question. She bends down and charges her axe, waiting for a strike. Here it comes -

A huge hand descends towards the robot, who grins in glee. "Ready or not!" She taunts, and the hit lands - and Labrys retaliates with a vicious counter, axe fully powered. The being's weaker, but she doesn't know how much energy she has. If she pushes herself -

She's interrupted when Yu and Adachi's yelling reaches a crescendo and their two Izanamis form into a massive blade. Together, they swing, and Hi-no-Kagutsuchi bellows in pain. It makes some silly remarks about "the hearts of men" but Labrys brushes it off.

"Well, with this, I officially close the case of the Inaba murders, and the Investigation Team is..." Yu stumbles over her words, but Izanami is there with a comforting thought - _just do it._

"The Investigation Team is officially disbanded. My wonderful friends...!"

Because of course they have to have this talk with Yu's train almost leaving.

"We'll miss you." Yosuke says, and his tears set off the rest of the Team's.

"I'll miss you all too. We'll always be friends, right...?"

"Of course!" Minako cheers and rubs Yu's shoulder.

"Always."

"I'm sorry, sis, but..."

"You're going to go with Mitsuru and the Shadow Operatives. I understand. Be sure to stay in contact. I do love you, you know."

Aigis and Labrys hug one last time before Labrys gets in the Kirijo car, but rolls down the window before it pulls off.

"I love you too! Sister! I'll see you later!"

And the car disappears into the sunset.

Aigis stands on the stoop of her and Minako's apartment for a while before Minako comes out with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She embraces Aigis from behind, blanket wrapping around the both of them.

"C'mon, Aigis. It's cold. Let's get back inside."

"Of course."

The two head back inside and close the door, and peace spreads over the town.


	14. Waking UpNew Adventure

It's been a few months since the Abyss of Time closed and Metis returned to Aigis's subconscious. Lately, the robot has just been in the Kirijo labs for testing, looking for any aftereffects of wielding Minako's Wild Card. It...doesn't hurt as much to think of her anymore, not since she cast off not thinking about her. That's what got them in that mess in the first place. At least the place she's allowed to stay is nice. Sheets have a high thread count. Not that she minds.

Somewhere, some when, Minako _is_. She is the Seal, just as the Seal is her. This is her purpose. Here, with Nyx at her back and Erebus at her front. She thinks fondly of when she saw Aigis and the rest defeat Erebus for a bit to give her some reprieve, but she didn't really need it. The Seal regenerates her when Erebus attacks, claws digging into her stony flesh. She doesn't know what's worse - when he's indifferent or angry. He's indifferent when there's just a mindless drive to get to Nyx, but when he's angry it's because something's happened in the world that's provoked him.

But who can say? Time has no meaning here. She looks over her entire timeline, from that fateful day on the bridge, to the experience with the Investigation Team to the day when she ascended. And died. But not further.

One day (week, year, millennia) she hears...something.

A prayer.

 _I am thankful for my boyfriend, and my cat, and my health._

Another voice - _I am thankful for my loved ones._

 _I am grateful that I can spend the rest of my life with my grandson._

 _God...thank you for giving me more time._

They spin about Minako, chains rattling like leaves in the wind.

And at one point, she sings.

"Ooh...ooh."

Erebus perks his ears up and watches, growling.

"May all your worries...be soothed."

"May all your troubles...be eased."

"Go to sleep, for we are thankful. Rest now, for peace is here."

"As we go...on this path of life."

She pours everything - her heart, her _soul_ , Messiah and Orpheus and Thanatos and everything she's ever summoned into her voice and she begs, she _prays_ -

 _Let this be enough_.

And finally, Erebus...droops. He sleeps. Minako feels the stakes pinning her to the Seal disappear and she glides to the floor. She walks forward, bleeding, chains rattling behind her until she reaches the beast.

"Sleep, Erebus. Let your pains be healed and listen to the ones you should hear." She reaches up and runs a hand along his shadowy snout, and he huffs in response. She chuckles, because Koromaru would do the same thing when he was sleepy.

She lifts her hands, and the threads of hope gather, and she weaves them into an eternal circle, a möbius strip of peace. They echo throughout the nothing, and she hears a door creak open.

When Aigis boots up the next morning, she nearly dies.

To clarify, she sees someone she thought was dead. As elegant and beautiful as when they were reunited at Yakushima, Minako Arisato is sitting on the bed, perfect as the day she left.

"You...who are you?"

"Aigis...is that you?" Minako reaches forward, hand going for Aigis's cheek, who instantly recoils and aims at this...thing.

"You can't be here. Minako is dead. I was there when she was buried, and we suffered enough in the Abyss! What are you...?" Anger seeps into her voice at the end, eyes focusing.

"Aigis! It's me! Please, trust me..." Minako turns downcast and brings her hand to her chest.

"I will ask once more. Who are you and why do you look like this? Minako Arisato is dead."

"It's me! Minako! Okay, it sounds fake but here goes - up on the Seal I heard the world's prayers. I sung Erebus to sleep and a door opened, and here I am. Please, trust me, Aigis. I love you. Remember?"

After a tense moment, Aigis lowers her arm and tears well in her eyes. She leaps forward and crushes Minako in a hug, bawling.

"I-it is you! No one else would say that! Oh, Minako!"

"Hey, Aigis. It's alright. I'm right here. And I swear, I'm never gonna leave you again."

"Well...that's something." Mitsuru muses. She and the rest of SEES are sitting around Minako and Aigis as there old leader tells her tale. By how closely Aigis sits and holds her hand, this is no apparition.

"I...I don't know how to respond," Yukari whispers, crying. The whole team is practically bawling their eyes out at seeing Minako again, and rightfully so.

"I'll...I'll leave then. I don't want to - " Minako starts before Junpei jumps up, chair falling over.

"Don't say that shit! We miss you! It's just...a lot to handle."

It sure is.

"So...you're leaving?" Shinjiro asks, as Minako and Aigis heft their bags.

"Yeah. I...we...need some time. If Mitsuru-senpai asks we're available, but we just need some peace and quiet. Gonna use the last of Mitsuru's money for us to start a bakery."

"I hope you weren't planning on leaving without telling any of us," Ken's voice interrupts, and SEES is there.

"How rude! Minako-chan, how could you?" Fuuka walks up to the duo and looks like she's about to cry.

"Fuuka-chan..."

"That's enough, Yamagishi-san. I understand." Mitsuru finally says and walks up as well, extending her hand. In her other is a check made out for - a lot of money. Like, a lot of zeroes.

"Call it a...honeymoon gift."

"Senpai..."

"Just don't be a stranger. Go and live your peaceful life you've earned. But know you'll always be a leader of SEES."

"Yeah...yeah. Thanks for everything, everyone."

And Minako smiles as she and Aigis leave on the train - destination, Yasoinaba.

Quiet countryside, here they come.

For as long as Yu's known her parents, which has been her whole life, she doesn't really know them. She knows they love her, and she loves them, but they've never been...close. Souji and Sanae Narukami have always put work first over their daughter, and Yu's known that since they missed her birthday ten years running. Since her parents have always moved around so much, she's always been alone. Friends were always hard to come by, and she wasn't exactly forthcoming and open with her peers.

"You're such a good girl," her teachers would say throughout the years, as Yu put her head down and focused on school. When her parents set her up in her own apartment in Tokyo close to a high school where she'd spend her first year, she nodded and kept her head down.

When she wasn't studying she was always trying something new - rugby, kendo, anything that would make her feel alive. Someday, she can't remember when (that's a lie she tells herself, her perfect mind wouldn't let her forget), she picked up fencing and never put it down. The feel of testing herself against someone else and coming out on top...

She felt amazing.

Whenever Yu's parents would call, they'd always ask if she was perfect, and over time Yu developed a line of reasoning - if she was perfect, she was loved. If she wasn't, then, well...

She never experienced otherwise.

"Inaba, huh? I understand, father. Yes, I know. Uncle Dojima and his daughter Nanako. My mother's brother. I understand. Bye. Love you." Yu hangs up the phone with a snap of her wrist and sits on her futon. Like moving again was a surprise. Not like she'd spent all of her academic career moving from school to school. But to the sticks? Man, which god did she piss off to warrant that? Well, as long as she did perfectly, she didn't mind.

She'd keep her head down, take her saber, and do well. Maybe Uncle Dojima would be more a parent than her own.

"So, I'm sorry to announce that Yu-chan will not be returning next year," her homeroom teacher announces to the class, who sympathetically whine.

"She's going to Inaba! Far from the city, where there's nothing to do..."

Yu tunes her out as she looks at her classmates. She can't remember any of them.

"I'm your uncle Dojima...and that about covers it. No need to be formal, I saw you when you were naked. Haha!"

Dojima and Nanako seem nice. The girl from before was cute, and seemed nice.

She gets home and collapses into futon, eager to start the day.

"Man, all you city girls are the same. Pull your skirt down, you little shit! Now, loser, introduce yourself to the class, and be snappy about it."

"Who are you calling a loser?" She doesn't even look at the teacher to respond, still writing her name on the board.

The class gasps at Yu's response. "I'm Yu Narukami. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, everyone."

"Hmph. Narukami, you're on my shit list, effective immediately."

"Excuse me!" A girl with brown hair and a green jacket raises her hand, "can she sit next to us? There's an open desk here."

"Yeah, yeah. Shuddup and siddown, Narukami. First things first is a lecture!"

The class groans at Morooka's remarks as Yu sits down, getting out a book and pencil.

"Thank you."

"Man, that sucks. I'm Chie Satonaka, by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

"Shut yer traps, brats!"

Maybe...maybe if Yu can put her hand in, she can put more -

Something bit her.

Ow.

She pulls her hand back and stumbles over the low table, falling on her ass.

"Shit."

Goddammit, Yosuke. Here Yu is, in another world, wearing a pair of glasses, holding a putter in one hand.

 _I am thou, and thou art I. Thou art the one who shall open the door!_

She looks at her hand, where a blank card lays.

"Per...so...na...!" She crushes it, and fire runs through her veins. She screams, and like a mountain from the sea, Izanami arises. Wind billows, Yu's grey braids flapping out of control.

 _I am Izanami...She-Who-Invites, the Fool. I am with thee..._

Izanami disappears and Yu settles into her ready stance. She yells, and Izanami sends out a bolt of lightning.

Now this...!

She barely (hah, bear-ly) listens to Teddie about weaknesses and strikes with glee.

Wait.

This isn't her. She's - no - no. She calms herself and focuses. Destruction isn't the answer. She can feel good about beating someone, but that's not its purpose.

Maybe, by fighting, she can understand people more. Help people understand themselves.

She rather likes that, as Yosuke refuses his Shadow and energy explodes.

Goddammit, Yosuke.

Yu feels like she's settled into life now. Wake up, go to school, meet with friends, and go into the TV. Beat up some Shadows, rescue people. She walks through the shopping district, looking for someone to talk to when she notices something new - a bakery.

Wiping All Out, huh?


End file.
